


Ultimates

by Rigze



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types
Genre: Action/Adventure, Eventual Romance, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-24
Updated: 2017-07-24
Packaged: 2018-12-06 05:05:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 36,063
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11593527
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rigze/pseuds/Rigze
Summary: In this life, there are those known as Ultimates: people feared and hunted for their special abilities, be they physical or mental. When Makoto Naegi suddenly develops as an Ultimate and is immediately targeted by his alleged father, he's left wondering if he's truly a "Luck" type.





	1. PROLOGUE: (It's Not) World's End

_The Tragedy. The name given to the war that took place nearly a century ago that killed millions. It had started as a small, isolated incident… a group of people had taken an entire office building in New York hostage, completely prepared to kill themselves and everyone in the building unless their conditions were met._

_There are many theories that try to explain why it happened; one states the group of people who'd started the uprising were victims of a corruption scandal that the entire city had covered up. Other theories suggest that they'd simply been a terrorist group. As the days went by and the hostage situation continued, more and more theories began surfacing all over the planet. It's unclear why this had such a large impact, but for some reason people began to fight based on whether or not they thought that one group was in the right or wrong._

_It was when the nation's police force took action that things began to spiral out of control. After days of ignoring the group's requests, they stormed the building and started shooting anyone in sight, hostage and kidnapper alike. It's unclear as to what had happened after that point, but within minutes the building erupted into a fiery ball of rubble and smoke. There were no survivors… and the world flew into a frenzy._

_Some people began blaming the government for what had happened; that the situation could have been resolved if they had only listened to the group inside. Others were sticking by the government's decision and felt the blame was on the alleged terrorist group for not complying with the law._

_The events following were a blur in most people's eyes, but from this one, isolated incident… people began to divide. Those who sought reform the governments and those who sought to keep them the same began fighting and killing each other for the sake of what they'd believed in._

_As time passed, around two years or so, people seemed to all but forget the reason for this war. It wasn't about reform anymore; the original two sides had disbanded. The fighting continued without reason, crimes were being committed for the sake of committing the crime, with no way to stop it. People who cried out for peace began banding together in attempt to stop the senseless violence… but that would only lead to more bloodshed than there originally was._

_About five years into the fighting, two more factions began to fight each other for the sake of peace. One side sought peace through diplomacy and avoided confrontation, while the other side felt that things would end faster with force and displays of power. The two sides eventually were dubbed "Hope" and "Despair" respectively, and while both sought out the same end, it was the means to the end that caused even more violence than what had originally occurred._

_Within the last year of the war, the battle between Hope and Despair had caused five times the amount of casualties than the first seven._

_The war came to a crashing halt when Despair had begun experimenting with biological warfare. It was then-_

…

_Makoto Naegi, are you even listening!?_

I'm snapped out of my reverie when the teacher calls my name out. "W-What?"

She huffs and puts her hands on her hips. "I'm attempting to teach a class, young man! I don't care if your father was a war hero or not, you need to listen to this lecture just like everyone else!" She walks over to my notebook and sees the various doodles I've scribbled down. "And why aren't you taking any notes!?"

I frown and sink into my seat. "Sorry ma'am."

"Be sure to see me after class." She turns on her heel and walks back to the board. I hear several stifled snickers from behind me and I sink even lower into my seat. I feel a tap on my arm and glance over to see my best friend and crush Sayaka frowning over to me. She smoothly slides a note onto my desk and turns back to the board, scribbling down whatever the teacher says.

I quickly unfold the note and read it. _Are you alright? You've been out of it all day._

I sigh and quickly scribble down my reply. _I'm fine. Just a little tired._ I push the note onto her desk when the teacher, Mrs. Amiya, isn't looking.

She reads the note and nods, shoving it in her notebook and quickly returning to her note-taking. I sigh and let myself zone out again. We've been over things like this again and again, and they only ever add a small amount of information each year we do. For some reason though, no one ever seems to notice that fact. _"At least I'm a senior… I won't have to sit through any more of these dumb classes."_

Eventually I tune back into the lecture, not wanting to get scolded for not paying attention again. "Now, as you all know, there are several kinds of Ultimates. Back when they were first discovered, we didn't have a classification system for them, so it's really convenient to have it now!" She turns behind her and writes the word "types" with an underline. "Can anyone tell me any types they know?"

"Strength?"

"Siren!"

"U-Uh, Oracle?"

"Emperor!"

I sigh and raise my hand. "Luck."

She stops hastily scribbling down answers and turns to me with a frown. "Now Makoto… you more than anyone else know that the only Luck type belongs to the army. We normally simply class that under…" She scribbles a word down and moves aside so the class can see it. "A Variant."

A girl up front raises her hand. "What do you mean by a Variant?" I have the sudden urge to roll my eyes, but I have to check myself because I know that the rest of them probably didn't know.

"A great question!" Mrs. Amiya says with a smile. "Variant types are Ultimates that can't be classified as a Strength, Siren, Oracle, or Emperor type! Now, we could simply make new categories, but variants are so uncommon, and no two usually share the same ability! These types are definitely some of the most dangerous, because there's no way to know what to expect from them."

Sayaka is next to raise her hand. "We've gone over this already in another class, but…" She scratches her cheek a little sheepishly. "Could you please go over what each type means?"

"Of course!" Mrs. Amiya cheers. She then sets to work writing each type's description next to their names on the board. She steps to the side with a flourish once she's done, and I lazily scan the information that's been drilled into my head since I was little.

_Strength- Any Ultimate with enhanced physical capabilities._

_Siren- Any Ultimate with the uncanny ability to influence others through expression._

_Oracle- Any Ultimate with enhanced mental capabilities._

_Emperor- Any Ultimate with the uncanny ability to strategize and lead others._

_Variant- Any Ultimate with an ability that can't be classified under any of the other types._

"Does that help you at all dear?" She asks. Sayaka nods and hurriedly scribbles down the information on the board. "Good! Now then-" She cuts herself off as the bell chimes and signals the end of the school day. "Jeez, just as we were getting to the good stuff! Don't worry guys, I'll start to discuss the extermination and capture measures for each of them tomorrow! Dismissed!"

I grimace and briefly consider skipping tomorrow, but think better of it. _"Dad would have a cow…"_

Sayaka smiles over to me as she gathers her things. "I'll be waiting for you outside Makoto! Leon wanted us to meet with him and listen to his new song later, and I'm not going unless you're with me!"

I grimace. "He's still on that whole rock star thing? He should just come back to school already, he'd be great as a border guard!"

"I know, I know! But…" She gets a small smile on her face. "I want him to live his life, you know? I'm sure things will work out for him!"

I sigh and nod. "If you say so Sayaka…" She turns on her heel and sweeps out of the room. I can't help but envy Leon at times like this, but I really shouldn't. He's another one of my best friends after all.

Mrs. Amiya clears out her throat, breaking me out of my jealous thoughts. "Come over here please Makoto." I approach the podium and she shakes her head. "Can you please explain to me why you were drawing pictures of dinosaurs and cars in your notes?"

I scratch my cheek a little. "Mrs. Amiya… I don't mean any disrespect, but we've talked about The Tragedy and the Ultimates ever since middle school. What about the the middle ages and the Egyptians and stuff? It's the same thing over and over again!"

"Because _this-_ " She gestures toward the board. "Is what matters right now! Just because you know this stuff inside and out doesn't mean I should tailor the course to you!" She crosses her arms and fixes a steady glare on me. "This school is designed to get you all into professions where you can defend the helpless against the untamed Ultimates, there's no point in discussing anything else!"

" _Untamed…"_ I internally snort. "…You know they aren't animals Mrs. Amiya."

She sighs. "I don't even know why you're in this school… They aren't like you or I, Makoto!"

"I'm here because I want to protect people." I say with a frown. "But that includes them too. They might be different from the rest of us, but I don't think that warrants us treating them like the scum of the earth!"

"You can't be serious…" She sighs and walks over to her desk, flopping down with a huff. "I don't understand you at all! Your father is one of the most famed heroes from the war, and one of the best Ultimate exterminators there is! How can you be so… naïve about them?"

"I'm not being naïve!" I say with a huff. "I realize that some of them are bad, but… Just because I don't think they're all monsters doesn't mean I'm an idiot, Mrs. Amiya!"

"That's not what I-!" I turn away from her and grab my things off my desk, storming out of the room. I don't normally like exploiting my father's status, but at least I can do things like this once in a while and not get detention.

Sayaka kept true to her word and was waiting for me outside the door. By the look on her face, I can tell that she'd heard everything. "You have some pretty strange views Makoto…"

"No, they aren't strange." I say with a sigh, walking down the hall. "Just because they're special in some ways doesn't mean we should kill them or enslave them for our own purposes."

She winces slightly. "I wouldn't say enslave…"

"I would." I say flatly. "What else do you call keeping them against their will?"

"I-It's not against their will!" She hurriedly says. "It's giving them a chance at life! Otherwise they'd be killed, you know? Besides, it only happens when they come to the city, it's not a big deal!"

I stop in my tracks. "Sayaka… you've never been outside the city. I've seen it with my own eyes… they don't have to do anything wrong to be captured or killed. Back when I was a kid, my dad took me out on a… hunt. An Ultimate with a unique ability had been discovered out in the forest; he was able to make plants grow within minutes. They went way out from the city just to get this guy because they thought his ability would be useful." I grimace, images of that day flashing through my mind. "A-Anyway, the point is there's a reason for me to think like that!"

A worried frown graces her features. "…You've talked about this sort of thing with me before Makoto. But that was such a long time ago… why are you bringing it up again?"

I laugh a little and wave her off. "I never stopped believing that Sayaka!"

She huffs and crosses her arms. "I had thought you'd grown out of it…"

"I'm not asking you to accept my views Sayaka." I turn around to her, putting on my best smile. "Let's just drop it for now, alright? Talking about this sort of thing isn't fun."

"Alright, but… you can't keep that sort of thing to yourself." She laughs a little and catches up to me. "I wouldn't want you turning into an Ultimate on me!"

"Hey." I say poking her in the side. "I said they're people, but that doesn't mean I want to be one! I couldn't imagine how hard it must be…" I sigh. "Besides, it's not like I can just turn into an Ultimate; neither of my parents are one you know!"

She giggles. "I know! Anyway, let's get going! We can't keep Leon waiting for long, you know he'll pitch a fit!"

* * *

Leon's performance was… interesting, to say the least. He was so enthusiastic about it though that neither Sayaka nor I had the heart to tell him that it needed some work. After several hours at his apartment, I walked Sayaka home and started off toward my own.

I glance up to the sky. "No stars again…" That's the issue with living in the city; too much light pollution. I look over to the large fence surrounding the city, and then to the guards patrolling both inside and out.

Towa city is one of the metropolitan areas that was constructed after the war. As far as I know; all of the large cities like Towa have the same things in common: They all have sensors that can detect an Ultimate, they all are completely barricaded, and they're all extremely advanced technology-wise. Areas that aren't blocked off basically consist of ruins of the older cities and suburbs, new villages and towns that don't have the same luxuries we do, and wild areas.

" _It's scary to think that this was all different just one-hundred years ago…"_ I muse, continuing my way home. _"I'd told Sayaka that I've been out of the city, but really it was just into the forest just outside… I wonder what it's like in other areas."_

I'm brutally shocked out of my thoughts by a loud siren suddenly going off. I immediately snap to attention. "An Ultimate…!?"

I never understood completely how the Ultimate sensors worked, but apparently when an Ultimate uses their ability they expel a certain energy that the sensors can pick up. I've heard of false alerts happening before, and it's been a solid year since there was an Ultimate sighting… it must just be a fluke.

"It went this way!"

…or not.

I speed up my pace. Whenever the Special Ultimate Control Squad (or SUCS) get in gear, they're ruthless. I've heard stories about how they've killed civilians on accident while on the hunt… and I'd rather not be the next S.O.B. victim, if I'm being honest.

I hear footsteps quickly approaching from behind me, and before I know it I've been pulled into an alley. I try to yell out, but a hand quickly clasps itself over my mouth.

"Keep quiet!"

I focus my gaze in front of me to see a tall and lean busty brunette glaring down at me. "Seriously, I'm not gonna hesitate to bend you like a pretzel if you get me caught!"

" _C-Crap!"_ I internally squeak. _"There really was an Ultimate here?!"_

She drags me deeper into the alley and pulls me behind a dumpster. It doesn't take long to find out why she did; within moments the once silent area is filled with noise; helicopters, utility vehicles, and foot soldiers all pass through the area in an instant. I hear the people barking at each other, but their words are lost in the sirens and the noise of the helicopter's blades. I'm almost certain that they're going to catch us, but to my surprise, and relief, they pass by us quickly.

After she's certain the coast is clear, she releases my mouth and stands with a huff. "Annoying as hell…!"

"H-How…?" I squeak after a moment. She turns and raises an eyebrow at me. "How did they not find you?"

"Oh, that's easy!" She says with a laugh. "Those whatever the fucks only make noise when I do my thing, you know? If I'm not doing anything, then they won't go off!"

"…I see." I say flatly. "So they were chasing you because you did…?"

"Bah, I got sloppy." She says, cleaning out her ear with her pinky. "These cities are so damn annoying. I jump a little higher than I should have _once_ and all hell breaks loose." She starts, as if something just occurred to her. "Hey… why aren'cha freaking out?"

"W-What do you mean?" I ask, wholly confused by this situation.

She snorts. "I _mean_ , why you didn't run off as soon as I let go of ya? Aren't you civvie types scared shitless by us Ultimates?"

"Well, normally…" I rub the back of my neck. "Not many people really share my views on this, but… I don't think I should hate or be afraid of someone just because they're different. I want a reason." I stand and brush my pants off. "So, uhm… why _did_ you drag me back here?"

"Feh!" She crosses her arms. "I normally don't give a shit about you pansies, but the old man told me not to get anyone killed… who didn't deserve it at least!" She scratches her nose a little. "And… I unno, something jus' told me they'd probably kill ya if they saw you near me."

I grimace. "What would have made you think that!?"

"Just feels, okay?" She sighs, but then shoots me an appraising look. "...You're pretty scrawny, huh? What's your name kid?"

"…It's Makoto Naegi. And I'm not a kid, I'm turning eighteen in a couple days!"

"Wow, seriously? That's hysterical, I-" She looks ready to bust into laughter, but checks herself. "Wait, did you say Makoto?"

"Y-Yeah…?" I affirm, feeling uncomfortable. "Why?"

"Hang on." She digs into the breast pocket of her white shirt and pulls out a small piece of paper. "M… Ma-…" She scowls. "Damn this old man and his shitty handwriting! Here!" She shoves the small piece of paper into my hands. "Is this your name?"

I smooth out the wrinkly piece of paper and squint at it. The handwriting really is terrible… I can't make out what it says at all. "…I can't read this either."

"Hah! And he just said I didn't have an eye for it… now I have proof!" She snatches the paper from my hands and stuffs it down her shirt. "Well, whatever. You're pretty funky, so I'm just gonna guess that you're the kid he's looking for!"

"Your friend is looking for someone in the city?" I ask, completely confused by this strange girl. "But why? Only people live here, and most of them are… well, most of them really wouldn't want to talk to an Ultimate. What could he possibly want with someone here?"

"Don't ask me!" She huffs, crossing her arms. "What he'd want with someone here I 'unno, but I'm here looking for them anyways! It pisses me off, but until I'm sure of who this fucker is, I can't leave… So what didja say your name was? Mike or something?"

I really don't know what's going on right now. "…Makoto."

"Right right!" She nods, seemingly understanding. "Alright, I'll be keeping an eye on you Maki, so don't freak out or nothing if I pop by to talk to you again!" She turns on her heel and dashes out of the alley.

"Wait, why-!?" I run after her and call out, but she's nowhere in sight by the time I make it back to the main street.

I have no idea what to think of what just happened. _"Just what am I supposed to do…? That girl said she'd be back… do I tell dad"_ I quickly shake my head. _"No, that's the last thing I want to do… he'd definitely find her and kill her! I don't know why she's here, but she hadn't done anything wrong by the sound of it!"_

Resolving myself to keep my mouth shut about the incident, I start the long walk home once more, hoping to god nothing else happens.

* * *

I unlock the door to the house and slide inside, shutting the door noiselessly behind me. It's nine o' clock… much later than I had expected it to be. I put my school bag in the closet and slide my shoes off. As I walk by the living room, I see my mother hunched over… crying.

"H-Hey, mom?" She whips her head up to me. "What's-"

She launches off the couch and pulls me into a bone-crushing hug. "Oh, thank god you're alright! Thank god…!"

"W-Woah, mom!" I say, prying her off of me. "Why wouldn't I be, what happened?"

She blows her nose into a tissue. "I-I'm sorry Makoto… it's just that I'd heard the Ultimate sensors go off, and I thought…!"

"She was afraid that you were killed by the Ultimate that had infiltrated the city."

I glance behind me to see my father standing there with his arms crossed. He's very muscular for his age, and can still fight and beat anyone who challenges him to a sparring match. He's extremely intimidating when he wants to be… which is why I don't say anything as he shoots my mother the dirtiest look I've ever seen. "Just what took you so long though?" He asks, turning his gaze to me.

"D-Dad, you know how the SUCS guys can be… I mean really, you used to lead them! I took cover once I heard the siren!" Okay, not a total lie, but my father is a perceptive man. I do my best to keep my expression light.

He seems to buy it well enough, as his face softens just a bit. "…Probably a wise descision. My boys really can be overzealous when it comes to keeping those things out of the city... just please, call us next time!"

"D-Dear…" My mother starts, shaking. "Don't you think we should-"

"Get Makoto here some dinner?" He finishes for her. "Of course! It's a little late, but he's a growing boy!" A smile works its way onto his face. "Come on, your mother made lasagna tonight!"

I know for a fact that's not what my mother wanted to say, but she relents with a nod once my stomach growls the mention of food. "Right… come on sweetie."

* * *

The next few pass with little to no incident. It's almost as if the thing with the strange Ultimate girl never happened, and it's managed to slip into the back of my thoughts, much to my relief. Finally, the day I've been waiting almost a week for comes… my eighteenth birthday!

…

Of course, it would be a lot better if I didn't wake up with the headache to end all headaches.

I shove myself out of bed with a grunt and make my way to the bathroom. I pull some painkillers out of the cabinet and swallow them dry, then move to get ready for the day. Shower, brush my teeth, wash my face… the entire routine is the same as usual.

But I can't help but feel like something's weird.

It's not because of the headache either, it's really just this feeling I have. I do my best to shake it off and pull on some clothes so I can face the day. This year I was lucky enough for my birthday to fall on a Saturday, so I don't have to drag myself to school.

"Makoto!" I poke my head out my bedroom door when I hear my mom. She's standing just outside with a tray of food in her hands. "Happy birthday, kiddo!"

I open the door fully and grin at her. "Wow, thanks mom! I could have come down to eat you know…"

She laughs and shakes her head. "I wasn't really expecting you to be up so early on a Saturday, so I was hoping to catch you in bed…" She trails off and her expression changes to something I can't place. "Makoto… are you feeling alright? You look pale."

I wave her off. "I'm okay, it's just a small headache! I already took some painkillers, so I'll be fine!"

She scowls, but nods anyway. "…Alright." She hands me the tray. "Tell me, do you have any plans today?"

I nod. "Uh-huh! Sayaka and Leon are meeting me at the park! Apparently they have something cool planned, I'm not sure what it is though!"

"Ah, alright then!" She suddenly smiles. "Then, while you're gone, I'll be getting a few things ready!"

"Mom." I say, puffing out my cheeks at her. "You don't need to go through the trouble of throwing a party like you always do!"

"And who said I was?" She smirks slightly and ruffles my hair. "Now, eat up, and be sure not to come back until you absolutely have to! Your momma has a few things she needs to handle without you getting in the way!"

I duck away from her hand with a laugh and she reaches out and flicks me on the nose before smiling fondly and walking away. "You're such a weirdo, mom!" I yell out after her. She only giggles as she makes her way down the stairs.

I shake my head and glance down to the food on my tray. Looks like I won't be going hungry today!

* * *

"Makoto!"

I whip my head around to see Leon running over to me. "Yo, dude! You're here early!"

He slings his arm around my shoulder. "I am? I'm pretty sure you're the one who's early bro!"

I brush him off and turn to him with a sheepish grin on my face. "Well, you know how my mom is! She kicked me out as soon as I stuffed my face with my birthday breakfast!"

"Ah, good ol' Mrs. Naegs." He shakes his head. "So obvious with her party planning."

"I know." I laugh. "But she's the best mom a guy could have asked for, you know?"

"Feh, wish she was my mom." Leon crosses his arms with a huff. "Mine was so pissed at me for dropping out of school that she kicked my happy ass out."

"Oh please, you love living on your own!" I roll my eyes and scan the crowd. "Hey… where's Sayaka? Shouldn't she have come here with you?"

"I dunno actually." He says with a frown. "She said that she had some things to take care of, so I showed up on my own. I think she wanted us to meet over by that sweet shop on Fifth."

"Well, let's go then." I say. "I can't wait to-" I start walking toward the street, but I cut myself off short when my headache drops a reminder that it's still there. "Geh…!"

"Woah, Makoto!" Leon says, catching up to me. "Something the matter? I didn't want to say anything, but… you sorta look like you're hung over."

"What?" I start to yell, but quickly regret it when my head starts to throb. "You know I don't drink… I just woke up with a wicked headache!"

His expression switches over to a thoughtful one for a second before it breaks out in a grin. "You know what would help-?"

"No." I say flatly.

"You didn't even know what I was going to-!" I shoot him a look that screams "Really Leon?" and he sighs. "Yeah, okay… killjoy."

I laugh a little. "So I'm a killjoy because I don't like to drink underage like you do?"

"Yeah, you are!" He says with a huff. "It's boring when I'm the one out of the three of us who gets wasted! Drinking is a group activity!"

I move behind him and push him along. "Yeah, yeah! You can complain all you want when we find Sayaka!"

"It's not complaining, it's fact-stating!"

He pouts for the better part of our walking trip, not saying anything as a form of "punishment." Several blocks later, I finally spot Sayaka standing on the opposite side of the street from us.

"Hey, Sayaka!" I yell out. Leon perks up at the mention of her name and starts waving over to her once she sees us.

"Hi guys!" She cheers. She dashes into the street in an effort to come over to us… but she's not watching where she's going.

A large van is heading right for her, and showing no signs of stopping.

"Wait, Sayaka no!"

The next several seconds seem to move in slow motion for me as my body runs on auto-pilot and rushes out into the street. My headache is reaching a peak as I run, but I ignore it.

"Makoto, don't-!"

" _I need to get her out of the way…!"_

I leap towards her and shove her as hard as I can out of the way of the truck, crushing my eyes together as I wait for the truck to plow into me.

…

But it doesn't happen.

I force my eyes open just in time to see the truck plow right into a building, having made a complete turn to the right from the exact point that I'm standing at. Some people managed to get out of the way, but others weren't so lucky. People on the street can only gape at the scene and look on in horror at the mangled bodies of those who were hit full force by the truck and subsequently crushed between it and the building.

And yet… somehow I'm still alive.

Sayaka gapes at me from her place on the ground, mouth trying desperately to form words. "M-Makoto- why-?"

I fall to my knees.

"What…?" I rasp out. "What… was that?"

Without warning the Ultimate sensors start to go off, sending everyone in the area into a frenzy. The bystanders all disperse in random directions in an instant, leaving me frantically looking around for my friends.

" _Sayaka…!"_ Not here.

" _Leon?!"_ Gone.

They're gone.

"They… left me?"

The street is completely barren within a few minutes, and all hope of locating my friends is completely gone.

I hear something coming fast down the street behind me, and I whip my head around to see the SUCS team in full uniform leaping off the massive truck that had just pulled up. I recognize it immediately.

It's a capture truck they use to transport Ultimates.

"Makoto Naegi!" One of the men in uniform begins. "You are under suspicion of being an Ultimate! Surrender now, or we will not hesitate to use deadly force!"

"H-Hold on!" I yell out, standing. The men immediately aim their guns at me as I do. "Y-You can't be serious, there's got to be a mistake…!"

"Oh, there's no mistake Makoto."

My heart hits my stomach as I see my father step off the truck. "I was afraid this would happen… and here I thought we were safe from you emerging as an Ultimate… and as a Luck type no less! How disappointing!"

"D-Dad, hang on!" I yell. "Neither you or mom are an Ultimate, so how-!?"

He shakes his head. There's a smile on his face, but it is by no means I kind one. "Don't worry. Just come with us… I promise that you won't regret it, Makoto."

"The hell he won't!"

All gazes shift upward as a girl seemingly falls from the sky, landing gracefully in front of me; it's the very same girl from the other night. "Mark, I _swear_ if you go with these guys you'll wish they'd killed ya! They ain't nothing but bad news!"

"…You." My father says flatly. "How annoying, and here I was told that you'd been eliminated… we have no use for any more Strength types in this city."

"I'd sooner die then hafta get collared and serve you fucks like a dog!" She grinds out, standing in front of me menacingly.

"C-Collared?!" I screech.

My father shakes his head. "Most people aren't aware of that until they're fortunate enough to start hunting, so I'm not surprised that you weren't aware of how we keep our dear Ultimates in check." He holds up what I assume to be one of the collars, which on its own looks like a simple choker. "It's not bad if you decide to cooperate Makoto, but if you don't… well, let's just say what happens next won't be pleasant."

My father laughs as he talks in an almost casual manner. _"How can he be… how can he be like this?!"_ I desperately want to run over to him to and ask him why, why he's looking at me like some sort of _thing_ instead of his son… but every single fiber of my being is screaming at me to run.

Before I even have time to consider going over to him, the weird girl snakes an arm around my waist. "Sorry, but you're not gonna have the opportunity to stick that on him!" She slings me over her shoulder, and with what I assume to be her Ultimate skill, launches herself high into the air and lands gracefully onto a balcony of a nearby apartment. While the police scramble to aim at us, she shifts me so that I'm piggy-backing her. "Hang on, Mimi!"

Just as she gets ready to jump again, they start to open fire on us. There are bullets whizzing left and right, missing our bodies by _millimeters_ as she jumps once again, this time landing on top of one of the shorter buildings in the area.

As if we weren't being shot at, she laughs. "Wow, that's one nifty skill you got there Marco!"

"Nifty!?" I screech. "How is anything about what's happening nifty!? They're shooting at us!"

She snorts. "Yeah, and I woulda had to move a lot faster than I am if you weren't with me! They called ya a Luck type, so that means that you're pretty damn lucky!"

I am _so_ tempted to point out that this situation isn't lucky at all, but at this point I'd rather not get shot because we're standing here shooting the breeze. "Whatever, let's just get away from them!"

She visibly pouts, but nods anyway. "Fine, fine…"

* * *

Several terrifying leaps and bounds later, I get almost used to the feeling of the girl bouncing from roof to roof. After a while, I decide to talk. "So… what's your name?"

"Oh, I didn't tell ya?" She asks with a laugh. "It's Akane. Nice to meetcha Michael!"

I grimace. "It's Makoto!"

She grins. "Details, details! I'm just so pumped it was actually you! Now I can finally leave this shithole!"

"W-Wait!" I yell. "What about me?"

"You're coming with me, duh!" She says this as if it's the most obvious thing in the world. "No offense dude, but I don't think your family is gonna want to keep you in the house anymore, let alone keep ya around!"

I want to tell her that it'll be fine, that everything that's going on is just a fluke and that I'm really not an Ultimate… but then I remember what my father said, and any chance of denial is gone in an instant.

" _And here I thought we were safe from you emerging as an Ultimate… and as a Luck type no less!"_

I feel tears spring to my eyes. "He… knows something, doesn't he?"

"Whaddya mean?" Akane asks, not looking back at me.

"My father… he didn't seem surprised that I turned into an Ultimate…"

"He _was_ sorta sketchy." She affirms. "I wouldn't worry about it too much though, I mean-"

"Can you take me to my house, please?" I blurt without thinking.

"Hah?" She asks, screeching to a halt on one of the buildings. "Are you nuts? They're hunting us right now!"

"I know that! But we lost them a while ago…" I move a hand off her shoulder so I can wipe a few rogue tears away. "Not to mention I need to talk to my mom. I… at least want to say goodbye. I'm pretty sure my dad won't be there, so please…!"

"…" She stays quiet for a moment before nodding. "Fine. I can't expect ya to just accept somethin' like this, so… just give me the damn directions."

* * *

After some less than quality direction giving by me and even worse quality direction taking by Akane, we manage to make it to my house by some odd miracle. I hop off her back and pull out my key, hurriedly motioning for her to get inside once it's open.

She lets out a low whistle as she scans the space. "Not bad…"

I don't reply to her as I frantically look around for my mom. To my surprise, she's standing in the kitchen. "Mom…!"

She turns around to me, knowing look on her face. "…It happened, didn't it?"

"Mom!" I say, walking up to her. "Tell me what's going on! I'm so beyond confused, I can't…!"

She shushes me as she pulls me into a hug.

"I had a horrible feeling this would happen… so please-" She pulls away reluctantly and hands me a bag. "Please take this and run away…"

"H-Hold on mom!" I grab her shoulders. "I don't understand any of this, why is dad-"

She cuts me off with a harsh voice. "That man is not your father."

…

"What?" I manage, letting my arms drop away.

"Sweetie…" She has the saddest smile I've ever seen on her face. "I love you so, so much, and I'm very proud of you… which is why you can't stay here. They'll lock you away, or worse yet… that man will kill you."

I can't believe any of this. "Mom, _please_ , just tell me why!" I yell out through teary eyes, she reaches out and brushes my cheek.

"There's no time." She says with a shake of her head. "I have no doubt in my mind that he's going to come here looking for you very soon… I put a letter in your bag explaining everything as best I could, so I really hope that'll be enough." She pulls me into a hug once more and kisses me on the cheek. "Run away Makoto, and never come back here again. Go out there and live your life. All I ask…" She chokes back a sob. "All I ask is that you find your father for me. Your real, actual father… he deserves to know you at the very least."

She glances behind me, noticing Akane standing there very awkwardly. "…Did he send you?" She asks, letting me go.

Akane scratches her cheek a little. "Look, I dunno what's going on lady. All I know is that I was sent on a wild goose chase looking for him." She gestures toward me. "I dunno anything about long-lost kids or whatever."

She shakes her head fondly. "I should have known he wouldn't let things sit like that…" She takes Akane's hands in her own, making the tall girl visibly flinch. "Please, make sure to get Makoto to him safely, and… tell him I'm sorry for not having the courage to run away."

Seemingly unsure of what to say, Akane nods. Mom walks away from her and looks as though she's going to say something else when we hear a loud clatter from outside. "So soon…!?" She pushes past me and heads for the back door, slinging it open. "Quick, through here! I'll try to distract them, so please, move as fast as you can!"

"But mom-!" She shoots me a look that leaves no room for argument and I quickly snap my mouth shut, slinging the bag over my shoulder. "Mom… please be careful."

She snorts, smile betrayed by the endless stream of tears pouring down her cheeks. "Of course you'd worry about me more than yourself at a time like this… I love you, sweetie."

"I love you too…!" I pull her into a short hug and plant a kiss on her cheek before bolting out the door, Akane hot on my heels.

We run and duck under as many things as we can, trying our best to remain unseen. "How are we supposed to get out of here?" Akane whispers. "The whole damn city is on red-alert, there's no way we can just slip out!"

I bite my lip. "…I can see the border fence from here. Do you think you'd be able to clear that?"

She peeks over in the direction I gesture to and nods. "Shouldn't be an issue. It's tall, but not as tall as some of those skyscrapers here. I should be able to do it if I get a running start."

"Right." I nod. "When we get close enough I'm going to have to hop on your back, and we'll have to make a mad dash for the fence and do our best not to get shot."

She waves me off. "Hell, with that ability of yours, we shouldn't even worry about something like that."

I scowl. "I don't know how you'd classify something like that as an ability! Those bullets just barely missed us, how can you attribute something like that to an ability!?"

She sighs and rolls her eyes. "Okay, I get you're still bitter about the whole suddenly becoming a public enemy thing… but your ability is one in a million! You're like the Joker in the deck of Ultimates, I dunno how you could be bummed about that!"

I can't tell if she's trying to make me feel better or if she's just pumped about my being an alleged "Luck" type. "Akane, I don't even know what my ability _does_! I could maybe accept this whole Ultimate thing better if my ability was straightforward like yours, but Luck has got to be the vaguest thing to classify as an ability! I even tried researching it in school because it was so strange, and yet I still don't understand it at all!"

She shrugs. "Maybe the old man can explain it to ya when you meet up with him or whatever… but for now we gotta get out of here."

I sigh. "…You're right."

She laughs. "That's the spirit! Now then…!" She heaves me up on her shoulders, keeping a hold on my legs. "Let's get going!"

"W-Wait, Akane!" I yell. "Aren't we still pretty far from there!? There's no way we can avoid being shot at if we start from here!"

"Yeah we can!" She says, feral grin on her face. "I'm gonna prove to you that your ability is _awesome,_ right here, right now!"

She can't be serious. "Are you insane!? You're chancing us being killed so you can prove a point!?"

"Pretty much!" She says, crouching down. "Ready, set…!"

"A-Akane!"

"Go!"

She takes off like a bullet down the street. Like I had predicted, any and all SUCS members that see us open fire. Akane doesn't even bother jumping out of the way of any of them as she barrels her way down the street like a demon.

"Gah!" I scream. "What is _wrong_ with you, they're…!" My eyes widen as I see a blockade of soldiers and trucks in front of the area of fence she's heading toward. "Hang on Akane, move to a different area!"

"Nope!" She cheerfully yells. "We're gonna make it, just you watch!"

With a final burst of speed she jumps up slightly and uses some of the soldier's heads as stepping stones before jumping on one of the trucks and uses it as a launch pad. She rockets off the truck and clears the electrified fence in one jump, landing gracefully on one of the trees just outside of it.

She hops over treetops for a while until we're a safe distance away and hops down off the canopy, laughing loudly in victory. "Man, that was fun!" She lets me down and I slump against the large tree she'd jumped off of. "I _told_ you that your ability was sweet! If you weren't with me, I woulda looked like a piece of swiss cheese!"

I do my best to try and calm down my rapidly beating heart. "You just got lucky! We could have _died_!"

"No, stupid!" She grins at me and puts her hands on her hips. "That was all you… Mr. Luck!"

I let myself slide down the tree, looking deep into the forest, and then look back toward my old home known as Towa city.

…

" _Luck type my ass!"_


	2. EPISODE ONE: Shock! The first step isn't the hardest!?

" _Makotoooo!_ " Akane whines for what feels like the thousandth time. "Are we there yet?"

"How should I know!?" I yell, feeling exasperated. "You're the one who came from this place, _you_ should know which way we're supposed to be going!"

She grumbles under her breath as we continue making our way through this impossibly large forest. It's been about three days since she and I escaped Towa City together, and frankly… I don't know how she's survived up to this point.

This girl has no semblance of common sense in her, _period._

* * *

" _Hey, want some berries? I picked them off that weird looking bush!"_

" _Makoto, come time me! I wanna see how long it takes me to take down that bear over there!"_

" _It's itchy! Itchy itchy itchy! What's with this weird leaf, huh!? …Eh? What's poison ivy?"_

" _Hey hey! Look, it's some of those SUCS guys! Let's go fuck with 'em!"_

* * *

I duck under a branch with a sigh. "Akane, I don't understand this… how do you not remember where you live?"

"Hey, it's not like I don't remember!" She yells, affronted. She snaps the branch I'd just walked under so she doesn't have to duck. "I'll know where we are once we get there, okay?"

"That doesn't help us now!" I round on her with a glare, though it's not very intimidating since she's slightly taller than me and a lot more athletic. "We don't even know which direction we're heading in, and we're running low on supplies! Why did you have to eat all the trail mix at once, huh!?"

"Hey…" She says, puffing out her cheeks at me. "You're the one who told me not to eat those weird looking berries. What else was I supposed to eat?"

"We had just had lunch, and those berries were poisonous!" I sigh and rub my face in my hands. "Look… is there some sort of landmark we can look for? You know, so that we know we're on the right track?"

She scratches her cheek. "W-ell… there was this super ugly mountain near it. It was shaped like four demon bear heads!"

"Demon bear…?" I shake my head. "Okay, that sounds pretty distinctive… so let's just roll with it. Once we get to a town or something, we'll look into finding a damn map so we can try to figure out just how off-course we are."

"Touchy touchy, little Makoto!" Akane chirps, skipping out into a small clearing ahead of me. "You weren't this bitchy when we started off, what's got your panties in a twist?"

"I'm not bitchy!" I snap. I stomp out into the clearing and toss my bag on the ground, flopping down on the ground beside it. "I'm just _exhausted_ Akane! I haven't slept more than two hours each night since we've started this, and I dunno about you, but it's more than a little irritating not knowing where we're heading!"

"So bitchy…" She gripes. "Look, if you're such a damn priss that you can't sleep in the woods-"

"It's not even that." I sigh. "We've run into several SUCS squads already… I don't want to be out-cold just in case something happens."

"Boo, hiss!" She jeers. "You worry too damn much! We've only run into them during the day, and that's happened less and less often since we've moved farther away from that place! Not to mention…" She walks over and sits down indian-style beside me. "Your super nifty power would keep us from getting caught!"

"I'm telling you that my "power" is a crock of shit!" I say, using air quotes for emphasis. "So many bad things have happened-"

"Bad stuff happens all the time!" She says, poking me in the forehead. "But we've managed pretty well so far, and that's thanks to you!"

"You're insane." I say flatly. "We've barely managed not to get caught, we're completely lost, _and_ we're running out of food and fresh water… you're insane in thinking that my so-called power is helping us at all!"

"Augh!" She groans, pushing herself to a stand. "You're so annoying! So super-duper double annoying! I'm gonna prove it to you right now that you're lucky!"

She hauls me to a stand and snatches my wrist, throwing my bag over her shoulder as she drags me off. "Akane, you've said that a million times already, and each time it's a fluke! What do you think is going to happen?"

"We're gonna walk this way." She says flatly. "And we're going to find something that you were just bitching about. A town, some supplies… you're gonna get lucky and just-so-happen to find something!"

She continues to drag me deeper and deeper into the forest, and the only thing I can find in me to do is sigh.

" _What did I do to deserve this?"_ I think miserably. _"I'm being dragged around by some insane girl who's convinced I'm magic, and I was ran out of my home like a leper! To think that this happened… all because of him."_ I grimace as I think back to that first night… when I'd first learned about where I'd come from.

* * *

**FLASHBACK**

* * *

_Akane snores loudly from her place beside me, small fire we built earlier having crackled down to a few embers. I don't really know what time it is; all I know that only a few hours ago I was still a normal guy, and now I'm not._

_I glance to the girl beside me. The entire time we were running from the city, she'd kept cracking jokes and praising me in what I assume was either an attempt to cheer me up or an attempt to keep herself amused. I don't know her well enough to assume either way._

_I turn my attention to the moonlight peeking through the trees. Today has easily been one of the worst days of my life, but I can't even bring myself to cry. I want to in a horrible way… just to curl up in a ball and cry, and let those SUCS guys find me._

_But I can't._

_I fish out the letter my Mom had written me from the bag. I've read this so many times in the past few hours… and I still don't fully understand what's going on._

Makoto,

You're grown up to me an amazing young man! Smart, caring, energetic… all I could have asked for in a son. But I wasn't able to match your greatness… which is why this is happening to you. I hate to tell you all of this in a letter, but I'm afraid we won't have much time once everything happens.

Where to begin… I'd told you that I'd always lived in Towa city, hadn't I? Well, that was true… for the most part. I was young at the time, and honestly just as biased about the Ultimates as everyone else was. The man you'd grown up thinking was your father, Yoshiro, was my fiancé at the time, and we were to be married as soon as I'd gone on an errand to deliver supplies to a far-off village. It was a peace-core sort of thing, and was essentially all I could do to help since female soldiers weren't exactly common back then. I was so mad that I'd have to wait to get married to that man… but now I'm glad for what had happened.

Once we'd arrived at the little nameless village, we were immediately attacked by a group of Strength-type Ultimates. They were ruthless; it didn't matter if it was a villager or a soldier, they'd simply begun killing, and laughing the entire time as they leveled buildings and tossed people around like toys… it was disgusting. I'd taken up arms just as everyone else had, but one-by-one we were killed off until only I was alive. I was backed into a corner and was certain I was next; their leader grabbed me by my collar and started shaking me like a rag doll! I started to black out… but within a moment, I was ripped away from his grasp. I mustered all my strength to look upward, and saw that I'd been saved by a mountain of a man.

"You fools are disgraces as Ultimates!" He bellowed as he held me tightly to himself. "Surviving is one thing, terrorizing others is another! I'll be certain you won't make that same mistake again!"

He had handed me to someone else, a woman I think, and single-handedly killed the entire band of ruffians himself… I passed out just as he was running back over to check on me. The next time I woke up, I was in a very strange place. I started to panic, but the very same mountain man that had saved me from death had burst into the room and started screaming about an attack. I immediately quieted as the man made a show of fussing over me.

"Are you feeling alright? Are you dehydrated, I know I'd left some water in here… wait no! That's for washing, where's the drinking water!? Wait, food! Where the fuck is the food I left in here!?"

I could only gape. He was an Ultimate right? He had to be! No human could have taken down an entire band of Ultimates and survived! So why was he acting… human? Like he cared? Everything I'd been taught since I was small was that Ultimates were vile, soulless creatures that only cared about themselves. It's what I was raised to believe! So I suppose that's why he really hadn't taken any offense when I'd bashed him over the head with a chair. He just laughed, and said I had spunk. He asked for my name… but then smacked his forehead.

"Holy hell, where are my manners? Name's Nekomaru Nidai!"

And that's how it all began.

I was kept against my will for the first month or so- not that I could go anywhere of course, since I had a pretty bad break in my leg. After that, though… well, I'd gotten curious. In this strange place, there were people and Ultimates alike, just living together. They weren't afraid. It was enough to make me stay; I wanted to know why- why everyone was fine like that. I'd told myself that I'd leave as soon as I could walk properly again though, so I tried not to interact with anyone personally… that didn't stop them from trying to get close to me, however.

So another month went by… and then another, and another… six months eventually passed, and I was still telling myself that I was staying for research purposes. It was a lie of course; the very man who'd saved me was the one who tried the hardest to get close to me. At first it was innocent enough, he'd said he wanted to help me get stronger, but his intentions had changed much faster than I could blink. Before I knew it, he was making awkward attempts at flirting with me, and, well… it was adorable.

Eventually… I gave in. Towa city considered me dead, right? So it was fine if I stayed. It would be fine to stay with the cute little mountain man who said I was spunky. After a year or so of being there I had gotten pregnant with both you and your twin sister, and after nine more months, you were both born. I was so happy! God, Makoto, I'd felt like my life was complete!

That feeling though… was immediately crushed. Not a month after you were born, that strangely wonderful place was attacked by SUCS. Your "father" was the captain of that operation. I don't know what their purpose was… but when he'd found me trying to escape with the two of you and your father, he looked surprised for a split second before his face shifted into a terrifying, absolute-zero grin.

I… hate to say I don't remember much of what had happened after that. It's all one horrifying blur. Your sister was ripped away and thrown to the side like trash, I held you under me as I was beaten to hell and back, and your father was shot in the chest… By the time I'd fully regained my senses, I was high in the air. I was tied up, and your "father" was holding you. As I watched him, I knew he wasn't the man I'd gotten engaged to before; he wasn't looking at you like a human… you were a _thing_ to him.

He'd wanted to use you for an experiment, that garbage. He said if I went back and lived with him, became his wife, and let him raise you as his own… he'd let us live. I did what I needed to let you live Makoto, but there's still a large part of me that wished I'd fought him harder. I don't think he ever actually cared about you… every time he'd hug you or ruffle your hair, I'd feel sick. You were a test to him… a test to see if an Ultimate's ability could be stifled if they were isolated from other Ultimates.

I had hoped and prayed with all my heart that it wouldn't happen Makoto. Even if I couldn't ever go back to that strange and wonderful place, if you were okay… that's all that mattered. That night you'd come home late though… I felt something that I hadn't felt in a very long time. It wasn't anything you did, it was just… the vibe you gave off. It reminded me of your father… so I knew I'd have to find the words to write this. It was hard, and I know there are a lot of holes… but this is all I can say. I wish I could tell you where the place was Makoto. It was by the sea, but there were thick woods surrounding it… my memory is so hazy now that I can't remember anything else, and I'm sorry for that.

Makoto, I love you. Even if you can't find your father, I want you to go out and find your own happiness. Don't dwell on it if you can't; just live. Live with all your might, and find that happiness I had had once! If I find out that you'd given up, I promise that I'll come haunt you… please, be safe.

Your Mom, Rio.

_If this were any other time, I'd be laughing about how cheesy it is that my mom remembers more about the man than the place she was living in for over a year. But right now… I can't bring myself to make a sound, to move, to do anything at all. All I can do is stare at this piece of paper, the very last thing my mother had given to me… the last thing that I have of her. Eventually, my consciousness drifts off and I fall into an uneasy sleep._

* * *

I didn't bother to tell Akane anything that I'd learned in the letter, because frankly I sort of doubt that she'd care much. It's not something she'd probably understand either…

" _But I really shouldn't think like that!"_ I scold myself with a huff. _"I don't even know her, yet here I am just writing her off as some crazy chick with a penchant for getting in trouble…"_ I look up to her. _"Maybe… I should actually try talking to her. There's got to be more to her than-"_

"Holy shit, look!" She stops suddenly and points in front of her. "Dead bodies!"

"…" I furrow my eyebrows and I tilt my body slightly to look at what she's pointing to. Sure enough… it looks like a group of four people have all been mauled to death. They're scattered around a clearing backed by a cliff, remains of a tent and other camping gear scattered with them. "-What the hell happened here!?"

Akane steps into the clearing and crouches down to inspect one of the bodies. "Who knows…? All I can tell is that they either pissed off a huge bear, or some real nasty Ultimates got to em."

"Are you saying an Ultimate could have torn these people to shreds…!?" I ask, doing my best not to gag at the raw smell of blood in the air.

"Oh sure." She stands and glances around at the bodies. "Not all of them have winning personalities like I do, see?" As she says this, she grabs a large stick off the ground and rolls over one of the mangled corpses with it. "Hm… doesn't smell that bad yet, so it's gotta be fresh."

If there weren't a pile of dead bodies in front of me, I'd probably have snorted. "Okay, so… shouldn't we leave?" I dare to actually look at one of the bodies and immediately regret it, turning my head skyward. "I mean… whatever did this could still be nearby."

"We'll be fine!" Akane chirps, waving me off. "But hey, lookie!" She skips over one of the bodies and picks up a bag. "There might be stuff we can use laying around!"

"Are you insane!?" I screech, trying to ignore the fact that seems to be my favorite word to describe her. "We're not looting a bunch of corpses for supplies, that's just-!"

"Makoto, it's not like they need this stuff anymore!" Akane laughs and starts tearing through the campsite's remains. I'd like to protest, but she has a point; we do need supplies. I turn my head away with a grimace and offer a silent apology to the deceased.

"Makoto, we hit the jackpot! Come look!" I try to keep my gaze on Akane as I walk over to where she's standing in a pointed effort not to look at the carnage she seems to be completely comfortable with. "There's a bunch of prepackaged food, water bottles, _night vision goggles!_ " She picks up the device and practically shoves it in my face. "How cool is this huh!? There's a map and a compass too!"

"A map?" I perk up considerably at the mention of one. "Let me see it!" She holds it up to me and I snatch it out of her hand. I look around for a place to spread it out. "…H-How about we grab the things we can use and head over there huh?"

"Awh, is little Makoto grossed out by a few dead people?" Akane taunts.

"And you're not?" I frown, picking up the bag of food and water.

"Nah, not till they start getting real gross. Right now it just smells like blood, but when bodies start to rot…" She makes a gagging noise. "I tell ya, that smell was almost enough to kill my appetite!"

"Why is everything always about food with you…?"

* * *

After convincing Akane to move far enough from the site of the massacre so that we couldn't smell the blood anymore, I spread the map out on the ground. "Alright… so the cliff we were just by is right around here." I point to a small dot on the map. "Apparently this village is just adjacent to the cliff… maybe that's where those people were from?" I shake my head. "Anyway… I don't really see any mountains labeled on here. Do you recognize any of the names of the places on here?"

Akane crouches down and squints at the map. "…Nope. But I've never really paid attention to names of places, so it's whatever."

"It's not whatever Akane!" I sigh. "We need to figure out where it is you live so that we know which direction we're supposed to go in! Do you expect us to wander around the woods aimlessly until we just-so-happen to find it?"

"Well, since you're-"

"Oh no!" I raise a hand to stop her. "Do _not_ say it again."

"Hey!" She yells. "How do you _still_ not believe me!? We found some supplies you know!"

"Yeah!" I retort. "And we had to loot four dead people's stuff to get them! That's not lucky at all!"

"Okay, so it may not have been lucky for _them_ ," She starts, standing and brushing her skirt off. "But it's not like your ability killed them! We just so happened to find them after the fact… and they _really_ didn't need them like we did!"

"It's not even about that Akane!" I yell. "I get that we got what we needed, and I _get_ that there wasn't anything we could do for them, but…!" I shake my head. "I don't understand you!"

"Whaddya mean?" She quirks her head to the side.

"You had absolutely no reservations about doing something like that, and you seemed perfectly comfortable around all those corpses! You even poked one of them with a _stick_ Akane! I don't get how you can just be so- so _whatever_ about it!"

"Oh, can it!" She sighs, clearly tired of my scolding. "I've seen that shit all my life, why the hell should I get all eeked out by a few dead people? I bet if ya grew up where I lived ya wouldn't even blink at that noise!"

There's a pause after this. _"…She's right."_ I think with a frown. _"I keep judging her based on what I know, but she grew up in a way different environment than me! I guess it makes sense that things that I think are normal would be different than what she defines as normal…"_ I rub my hand over my face. _"God I suck!"_ I open my mouth to apologize, but she cuts me off.

"Besides!" She continues with a laugh. "Don't tell me you've never wanted to poke a dead body with a stick! You see it all the time in movies, and it really is as fun as it looks!"

…

No, I take those thoughts back. She can't be normal by anyone's definition.

"Hey, you went all quiet… Oh, I get it! Did you decide you wanted to give it a try? We're not that far from them, so we can go back and poke em a little!" Akane chirps, walking closer. She's standing so close that if I glanced up even a little I'd get an eyeful of undies, so I do my best to keep my gaze straight ahead towards the woods.

"Could you _please_ move-" I cut myself off when I see a bush rustle just behind Akane. Peering between her legs, I almost think I imagined it, but it suddenly happens again. My heart drops to my stomach.

"Akane, get down!" I yell. She quickly tenses and jumps out of the way just in time for what looks like a knife to bury itself in the ground where she was just standing, mere inches away from my legs.

"Ehhh? I was caught?" An annoyingly whiny voice calls out from the bushes. "How boring!"

I frantically stuff our ill-gotten goods into the bag and stumble to my feet. Akane drops to a fighting stance. "Get out and show yourself, you coward!" She commands.

"Nah, that ain't my style, see?" The knife, which appears to be attached to a chain, suddenly retracts and flies back into the bushes. "Me? I'm more of a hunter. Why would a hunter show themselves to their prey?"

"To show they aren't a chicken-shit wuss!" Akane taunts. She cracks her knuckles in an almost menacing fashion. "So come out and fight me like a man!"

The immediate response she receives is three move chain-bound knives being launched at her. She dances out of the way of each, while I have to scramble not to get skewered. The knives fly back into the bushes almost as fast as they'd come… only to be replaced by five more. She jumps high into the air to avoid them, but not quickly enough; one of them nicks her leg.

She lets out an irritated growl as she lands. "Geh…! I swear, this shit is why I don't wear long pants! They'd be torn to hell in three seconds!"

"You… ain't right." The voice states blandly. "All of those other little whelps died so easily… Seems to me like you're an Ultimate."

"Gold star, motherfucker!" Akane yells, flipping the bird in the direction of the voice.

There's a pause. "Oho…" I hear a crack. "Is that so? Well hell, that suits me just fine! It's about damn time I move on to bigger marks!" Another loud crack; it sounds like branches breaking. "First thing's first, though…"

A tree suddenly goes flying high into the air, and our assailant finally becomes visible. He's a completely unremarkable looking man in his early twenties, but he seems to be wearing some sort of backpack with enormous mechanized arms jutting out of it. The knives that were launched at us just minutes before are attached as nails to the massive hands… and frankly, it's a downright terrifying piece of equipment.

"What the hell…!?" I breathe out, looking at the guy.

"Pretty sweet, huh?" He flexes his arm, and the mechanical arm mimics the action behind him. "I snagged it from this dumb-shit mechanic, said I was gonna help him test it out. Fat chance!" He snickers under his breath. "Seriously, my life has been a blast since this thing and I got together!"

"Did your mother snort crack when she was preggo with you or somethin'!?" Akane yells, clearly pissed by the man's behavior. "You're just making people-kebabs for fun!? What did they ever do to _you_ huh!?"

He laughs. "Does a deer need to do anything to have its brains blown out by a shotgun? It's the same principle! Besides," He points an accusing finger toward Akane, with his machine arm once again mimicking the action. "You're an Ultimate! I bet you've killed like ten times the amount of people I have!"

"I've only ever killed fuckers that deserved it!" She yells crossing her arms at him. "And it looks to me that you're gonna be next on that list!"

"Big talk from a broad!" The man snaps. "Let's just see you do it after I make mincemeat out of your little friend over there!"

Within seconds of him saying that one of the arms is pointed right at me, all five knives rocketing off it at lighting speed. There's no way for me to move quickly enough to avoid being hit…

"What the fuck!?"

Not that I needed too it seems. All five knives stop short of me and land lamely on the ground, arm seemingly stuck in its position. I snap my head up to the murderous fiend to see him frantically pressing buttons on a small control panel on his arm.

"It jammed!?" He yells, face red with anger. "It fucking _jammed_!? It's never happened before, why-!?"

Having seen an opening, Akane rockets over to the man and lands a flying kick to his head. He skids across the clearing, landing hard on his butt as he lets out a strangled stream of curses. Akane attempts to go in for another hit, but the still functioning hand catches her by her leg and flings her aside.

"Augh!" She crashes hard into a tree, nearly snapping it in half with the force of the impact.

Not knowing what else to do, I run over to Akane. The man looks preoccupied trying to fix the arm while he's still reeling from Akane's kick, so I feel confident enough that I won't be attacked.

"Akane!" I see her leaning up against the stump of the tree she'd cracked in half. "Are you okay!?"

She groans a little and nods from her seat on the ground. "Just surprised me is all. I thought he had to be the one controlling those dumb arms…" She laughs a little and shakes some leaves and twigs out of her hair. "Guess not!"

I offer her a hand. "So… should we run?" I ask hurriedly, glancing over to the man. He must not get into a lot of fights, because his guard is completely down as he fusses over the machine. "I mean, he seems to be distracted-"

"Hell no!" She says, glaring at me. "If we walk away now, he's gonna cut more people to ribbons! We couldn't do anything about the people before, but I'll be damned if I'm gonna let this ass walk away so he can do it again!"

As much as every part of me is screaming for me to hightail it out of there, I know for a fact that she's right. "…Alright. So how are we going to do this? The other arm will just grab you again if you go in for a direct attack!"

"Why the hell are you asking me!?" She yells. "I'm used to straightforward fights; you punch me, I punch you. That's it!"

Her yell seems to have reminded the man of our presence as he snaps his head over to us. "You little fucks! Trying to run from me!? I'll cut you to bits!" He jumps to his feet, other arm able to move once more… even though the chain-attached knives are still laying completely useless on the ground.

The man begins his assault once more, knifeless arm grabbing at me as Akane jumps away from the other hand's barrage of knives. "Crap!" I squeak, narrowly scrambling out of the way of the hand. My mind is racing; just how are we supposed to take out this guy when both of us have to give it our all just to avoid those massive mechanical hands?

I trip over something and fall flat on my face. I do my best to recover as quickly as I can, but I have to roll out of the way of the next grab the arm attempts. I roll right under a bush, trying to regain my senses enough to see what it was exactly that I'd tripped over; it was one of the chains connected to the malfunctioning hand.

And then it hits me.

"Akane!" I yell, scrambling out from my place under the bush. I snatch up the chain and knife just in time for her to look my way. "Catch!"

I toss it at her, and she catches it just in time for her to narrowly avoid getting a new hole for her stomach opened up. She stares at me in confusion as man prepares for his next attack. "What the hell am I supposed to do with…?"

He launches another knife, this time aimed at me. I purposely let my legs go limp and fall hard on my butt so that I can dodge it. "Jam it into the pack on his back!" I yell.

It takes her a second to get what I mean, but as soon as she gets it she launches herself up into the air.

"Like hell you will!" The man yells. He quickly retracts the knife he'd just shot at me and fires all five toward Akane, but she simply knocks them out of the way with the knife in her hand. He curses and make a last-ditch effort to grab her with both of the hands.

"Too slow!" She lands on the ground behind the man and shoves the large knife through the pack. She flies backward just as the pack begins to spark, arms twitching and jerking around the man as he scrambles to get it off… but he seems to be caught in it.

"N-No!" He screams as he frantically tries to undo the straps keeping him bound to the machine. "Please- I don't want to die! Help me!"

Akane runs over and snatches me up by my waist. "Pretty damn sure that's what all those other people thought too!" She runs back the way we'd initially come from towards the cliff. Once it's in sight, she jumps towards the closest ledge and uses it as leverage to rocket us to the top of the cliff.

She sets me down on the ground and falls to her butt, letting out a huge sigh. "Man… that was a pain in the ass." She pauses for a moment when we hear an explosion off in the distance. "So?"

I raise my head and look at her. "So…?"

"Aren't ya gonna nag me for not helping that guy?" She asks.

I stay silent for a moment before I let out a sigh of my own. "…No, I'm not."

She wasn't expecting this answer from me apparently, because she gives me the strangest look. "You're not!?"

"Is it that hard to believe…?" I ask, effects of the adrenaline wearing off.

"Well… sorta." She says. "All you've been doing since we started our little trip is nag me. I figure you'd have wanted to jus' break the arms or something."

"Yeah, well…" I frown. "I'm not the kind of person who wants other people to die, but… with what he did to those people…" I let out a yawn and lay back. "If we'd let him go, even without those arms, I'm more than certain he would have still killed people for fun… and that's not right. I.. I think he got what he deserved."

She stares at me for a moment before scooting close and laying down next to me. "...I'm glad you're not gonna beat either of us up over it." She closes her eyes. "You said there was a village near here?"

"Mhm." I mumble.

"Cool." She says. "Then let's head over there… after a quick nap."

I can only nod a little before I end up drifting off into what I have a feeling is going to be the most comfortable sleep I've gotten since this whole ordeal started.


	3. EPISODE TWO: Seek and Destroy? Take Out the Crazy Gang of the East!?

Its dark out by the time I finally wake up. I rub the sleep out of my eyes and glance to my watch, letting out a low groan when I see the time. "Two thirty-one… great."

It was around midday when Akane and I crashed after our fight with the psycho killer, so we've been out for a good ten hours or so. I heave myself to a sitting position.

"Hey, Akane?" I say, looking over to the girl. I shake her a little and speak in a slightly louder voice. "Akane!"

"Mmmfg…" She grumbles, turning away from me. "Tell that damn imp to lay off m' pancakes…"

I let out an amused snort. She's out cold. _"It'd be nice to have her awake with me, but I'm not going to wake her up just because I'm bored."_

Looking up at the star filled sky, I try to think of what to do with myself. I woke up pretty well-rested, so I don't exactly want to go back to sleep, but… it's not like I can just flip on the television and play a video game.

" _Maybe I'll go for a walk…"_ I glance over to Akane. _"Better yet, maybe I'll go to that little town and see if I can't find a hotel or something for us to check in to. We're both sort of sweaty and grimy. But…"_ I screw my face a little. _"Is it really alright for me to go off on my own?"_

I mean, it's at least a little safer now that that guy is gone, so it shouldn't hurt. I get up as quietly as I can and stop for only a moment to grab a flashlight and some of the money mom had packed away for me. The flashlight is more of a precaution than anything else since the moon is bright, but I'd rather be safe than sorry.

Just as I'm about to wade my way into the thick forest, it occurs to me that Akane might wake up while I'm gone. I break a twig off a tree and scribble a quick message into the ground right by the bag:

**I went for a quick walk, be back soon.**

**-Makoto**

Figuring that's good enough, I set off into the woods. _"I'm heading south right now, so if I keep moving at a good pace, I should be at the town within the hour._

It's quiet for a while. At first it's a soothing sort of quiet; the kind where you can hear the crickets sing clearly accompanied by the gentle rustling of leaves… it's peaceful.

As I move farther in however, the silence changes. It becomes an eerie, deathly silent sort of quiet. With the sound of my own breathing being the only noise I hear, my nerves set me on edge. This kind of quiet is the sort that happens in horror movies just before the killer pounces on the unsuspecting idiot in the woods…

I speed up a little. As I get closer and closer to my destination, I'm able to hear so much more than you'd expect for it being so early in the morning… The roaring of multiple engines, crashes, and _screaming_. Screams of people who're afraid for their lives.

I stop dead in my tracks just as another scream rings out. "Is the town under attack…?!" I breathe out frantically. _"Crap! This turned out to be an awful idea! An absolutely awful one! I can't help anyone out on my own!"_ I loud crash comes from the direction of the town, igniting another chorus of screams.

"…There's no time to go back!"

I break out into a sprint, steeling my nerves for the worst. It's an awful idea that I've had, but it may be too late to help anyone if I run back to get Akane.

I reach the town in little time. It's a suburban area it seems; the first thing I see is a row of houses that are keeping me from getting a clear view of the town. As the pungent smell of smoke hits me, my resolve to dive into the fray solidifies.

I hop one of the fences surrounding a house, staying low as I move from the back to the front. I peek just over the top, and my breath catches in my throat.

It's absolute pandemonium.

People are running for their lives from men on motorcycles... Except calling these motorcycles would be wrong; these are full-blown _monstrosities_. Fully customized, spikes coming from the wheels, mounted guns, and massive exhaust pipes that roar as the men raise hell. They're tossing around Molotov cocktails around like confetti as people run for their lives… I can't see their faces, but from the sounds of the raucous laughter mixed in with the screams, they're _enjoying_ this.

Suddenly, I see a very prim looking woman running away from one of the men that is on foot. I duck down slightly when they turn towards me, deciding to peek between the gaps between the boards instead. The heel of the woman's shoe suddenly breaks, sending her crashing into the wooden fence I'm hiding behind.

"Augh…!" She cries out as she hits the ground. Her head is facing away from me, but the anger in her voice is clear. "You bastards…! We had a deal! You were supposed to leave us alone!"

The ruffian simply shrugs in response to her question, malicious grin present as he looks at the woman like a fresh piece of meat. "I jus' do as I'm told lady… well, for the most part." He crouches down in front of her and pins her arms above her head. "My job allows a foe a lot of… freedom. As long as I handle my shit, I can do whatever I want!" He runs a hand up her suit's skirt, causing the poor woman to start.

"Let me go- you animal…!" She screams, terror breaking through the anger in her voice. I turn away in a panic, trying to think of something I can do to help. There's a plant in a ceramic pot on top of a concrete block right next to me, a rake and a hose next to the house, and-

"Ugn!" The man lets out a grunt. Did she manage to get a hit in? "You'll pay fo that you lil' bitch!"

"Gyaa!" The woman lets out a choking sound. "S-Stop it…!"

...The next thing I know I'm perched on the concrete block the plant was on, looking down at the unconscious body of the woman's assailant. There are shards of the pot embedded in his head and face, but it doesn't look like any major damage was done.

I hop off the block and rush over to the woman. "H-Hey, miss!" I say in a frantic yell-whisper. "Are you okay!?"

She takes a few deep breaths, a shaky hand pressed where the man's hand was not moments before. She seems to be in her late twenties or early thirties, long blonde hair falling out of the bun she'd apparently had it in. "T-That was… were you there the whole time? Who are you?"

I nod. "My name is Makoto, and I was looking for this town when I saw what was going on-" An explosion rings out in the distance, and I cut myself short. "Look, I don't think it's safe here right now! Can you stand?" She nods, and I grab her hand. "Okay… a friend of mine is in the woods about thirty minutes north from here."

"North?" She asks, pulling off the heel of her other shoe. "Isn't that… by that cliff?"

I nod, a little confused at the tone of reluctance in her voice. The sound of a roaring engine signals our time to depart, and I lead the woman back the way I'd come from.

* * *

By the time we get back, it's just past four-thirty in the morning. As it turns out the woman, whose name I learned to be Marie, had twisted her ankle when her high heeled shoe had broken. It took a little more time than anticipated, but we finally made it back to where Akane is.

"Akane!" I yell. "Wake up, we have trouble!"

She wakes up with a startled snort. "Uh, wah?" She looks to me. "Makoto, why would you wake me up like that!? You're so fucking rude!"

"Akane, now isn't the time!" I say, exasperated.

Finally noticing Marie's presence, Akane shoots me a dubious look. "Dude, where did you pick up the chick in the business suit?"

I let the poor woman sit down on a nearby stump. "Well _maybe_ if you actually let me talk instead of spouting nonsense, you'd know that the village near here was attacked!"

"Hey!" Marie says in a harsh whisper. "Are you two completely ignorant!? Do you not have any idea who's out in these woods!?" I share a look of confusion with Akane, and she lets out a sigh. "There's a murderer out here!"

Akane tilts her head. "Another one?"

"Another…?" Marie shakes her head, loose bun swaying with the motion. "Look, a few months back people started disappearing from the towns surrounding this forest. We had originally attributed it to bear attacks, but a man who'd escaped an attack informed us that it was a psychopath wearing a backpack with two huge metal-" Akane snorts, Marie looking affronted at the gesture. "And what, pray tell, is funny about this!?"

"Nothin'…" Akane says, grinning at the lady. "Except the fact that me and my main man Makoto here totally roasted that guy's ass!"

She glares at Akane, disbelief written plainly on her features. "I sincerely doubt a teenage boy and his girlfriend can take down a murderer."

"Okay one," I start. "We are the farthest thing from a couple you can imagine."

"And two!" Akane butts in. "We totally did! What else could you expect from a couple of badass Ultimates?"

The woman stares at us as Akane's impromptu declaration sets in. "You two are… Ultimates?"

"U-Uhm!" I bite my cheek a little. "Well, sorta, but look-"

To my surprise, the woman raises a hand. "Please, be calm. I'm not going to rally up a mob or anything…" She snorts. "You usually only see that bigoted view from people who live in the big cities where Ultimates are basically slave labor. Treating every single Ultimate like they're going to kill you is a nice way to put a target on your back." She shifts a little and rubs her ankle. It must be bothering her. "Still, it's surprising to see two Ultimates who aren't from around here."

Akane tilts her head. "Is it?"

"Well… yes." She says, crossing one leg over the other. "You see, most Ultimates that aren't part of the Crazy Diamonds know to stay away from here."

"Crazy Diamonds…?" I echo, a little dubious.

"They're the gang that attacked the town." She says flatly. "But we can discuss that later… you said you killed that man?"

"Wait, but…" The look she gives me says that she doesn't mean to say anything more about it here, and I sigh. "Yeah… he attacked us after we found one of his, er… crime scenes?"

Akane cleans out her ear with her pinky. "Bastard thought he could make us his "prey." What a douche." She stands on one leg and turns the uplifted leg so that Marie can see the gash on her leg. "He managed to get a hit on me, but thanks to this kid's luck, I was able to jam one of that fucking backpack's knives right back into it! It exploded with that asshole still stuck to it!"

Marie stares at her leg for a second before raising a perfectly groomed eyebrow. "What do you mean by "luck" by the way? Is that your Ultimate ability?"

I nod. "Uhm… I'm not exactly sold on it myself, but Akane swears by it." I shuffle my feet a little. "I was living in Towa City up till about a week ago. I was run out when, well… my power happened. It's a complicated story."

Marie doesn't press the issue. "I see. You two have traveled pretty far, in that case… what business did you have in our little town then?"

"Oh, we were really just going to stop for a day to rest and get some directions." Something occurs to me just then. "Wait, would you say you're pretty familiar with the area?"

"I should think so." Marie says. "After all, I'm-"

"Great!" Akane yells, cutting her off. "Do you know where the demon bear head mountain is then!?"

"Demon bear head…?" The woman questions, clearly doubting Akane's intelligence.

"Sorry." I walk up to Marie and show her the map. "Look, Akane isn't very… perceptive. The only thing she knows about the place she lives is that mountain. Could you point it out to us?"

She stares at the map for a moment before shaking her head. "This is only a local map. I don't think it'll show you whatever it is you're looking for. But…" She straightens out her suit jacket. "I think I can help. All I request is that you do a small favor for me in exchange."

"What kind of favor are we talkin about here?" Akane leers at the woman. "I'm not about to get into some shady shit for directions of all things!"

"I'll explain in due time." Marie motions for me to bend over, and she slings an arm over my shoulder to stand. "For now, take me to the murderer's body. I need to confirm your story."

"Why?" Akane grouses, clearly irritated by the woman's line of questioning. "What's it matter?"

"There's many reasons." She says simply. "The first and foremost is that I want to be sure that you're not lying. It'd be a great relief to me and all the surrounding area if that menace is gone."

"Well, it shouldn't be a problem!" I say simply walking with Marie over to Akane. "Akane, take her off the side of the cliff. I'll just walk down."

Akane snorts. "Psh, I'll just take ya both down at the same time if we're really gonna bother with this. I don't wanna wait forty years for you to come down." With that she plucks the bag off my shoulder and promptly takes both Marie and I up by our waists, dashing towards the cliff.

"Wait!" Marie yells. "You're not really going to-!?" Whatever she was going to say next was cut off by a sharp intake of breath and a scream as Akane leaps off the cliff. It's a short fall before Akane lands gracefully… right in front of the corpses we'd discovered and looted yesterday.

Akane lets me go first and I hurry to the other side to support Marie. "…So apparently Ms. Akane is a Strength type Ultimate…" She takes a moment to straighten herself out before she notices the bodies. She looks at them for only a moment before she quickly turns away with a pained expression on her face. "…Those are definitely his victims. I've seen the pictures, but in person it's just…"

"Let's get goin' already!" Akane yells with a pinched nose. "This stench is gonna make me hurl!"

Marie nods her agreement, and we make our way over to the scene of our battle.

* * *

Akane kicks a rock around like a ball as Marie examines the area where the man's charred body parts and the pieces of his sinister device are scattered. Marie seemed to have no issue crawling around on the ground to pick apart what was once human from the foliage.

"Uhm." I start. "Do you really have to go through all that?"

She nods. "I need to keep going until I at least find… ah." She crawls over to a bush and reaches under it, pulling out the top half of the man's skull. "Here we are! Now we should be able to get a positive ID on him."

"So?" Akane asks. "Do ya believe us now?"

"I think I can safely say at this point that the two of you aren't lying about killing this man." She glances towards the skull and then to me. "Would you mind holding this for me? I need to make a call."

"…I'd rather not." I grimace and pull the map out of the bag. "Here, just… wrap it in this for now, or something."

She doesn't comment as she accepts the paper and wraps the head carefully inside it. "This'll do… now, can you please…?" She looks at me expectantly and holds out her hand. I had almost forgotten that she was hurt by the way she was crawling around on the forest floor.

Once I have her up, I walk her over to where Akane is standing. She starts to fumble around for something in her pockets; after a moment, she pulls out a phone and quickly navigates the touch screen to make a call. "Hello? …Yes, I'm fine. I managed to escape with some help. No… no. Look, I need you and some men to come to the clearing by the cliff."

I look toward Akane with a confused expression as Marie continues her call. Just who is this lady? She takes her arm off from around me and hobbles away, having an apparently heated conversation with whoever is on the other end of the line.

"…Right." She ends the call and quickly deposits the phone in her pocket. "We have a few minutes until they get here. Apparently they were already out looking for me and a few others."

"Whose they?" I question.

"The town's police force." Marie pulls her hair out of the bun and lets it fall loosely around her shoulders. "They're going to pick us and the rest of the bodies up."

"Okay, hold the damn phone!" Akane says. "First you bring up a shady favor, and now you're calling in the cavalry to come and pick us up! Just who the hell are you!?"

"Akane!" I say.

"Hey, we have a right to know!" She says with a huff, crossing her arms. "How the hell should we know if she's trustworthy huh? For all we know she can be with SUCS and this is all just some clever ploy to drag you ass back to you douchebag not-so-father!"

"Oh come on, that's-" Impossible. I cut myself off when I hear a sudden whirring noise. Off in the distance a large black chopper flies toward our location at an amazing speed.

"I understand your concerns." Marie says, completely unfazed. The helicopter stops just above us and begins its descent, air whipping around madly as it lands just behind the blonde, who simply offers us a curt bow. "Allow me to formally introduce myself. My name is Marie LeBlanc. I'm the mayor of the town that was attacked last night."

A bespectacled man with an extremely ill-advised handlebar moustache steps out of the helicopter, bald head catching the light as he approaches Marie.

"I'm pleased to see that you're unharmed." He glances down and notices that she's favoring her right leg. "…Well, for the most part."

"Quiet, Stanley." She huffs, clearly irritated at the man's overly pleasant demeanor. "Please, attend to the bodies of the victims. They're just below the cliff's edge." She hobbles towards the helicopter and deposits the map-wrapped skull in a policeman's hands. "Take this to the M.E. once we get back. I'd like to have this man identified."

I notice a slight twitch in the man, Stanley's, facial expression, but he nods and leads a few men off. He didn't even to notice Akane and I gaping at the sudden information overload.

"I thought she was just some stuffy business lady!" Akane whispers as she approaches me. "What the actual fuck, Makoto!?"

"You're talking like I knew about it!" I hiss back. "Look, we need to be calm! Completely! Marie said she didn't mind Ultimates, but we aren't sure-"

"If you two are done gossiping," Marie cuts in, sitting on the floor of the helicopter. "I'd like to take you back to the town to offer my proper thanks…" She coughs into her hand a little. "And perhaps to get into a much less grimy set of clothes."

I share an up down look with Akane. I guess we could probably use a shower…

* * *

Marie is sitting behind the desk of a very posh looking office as Akane and I sit stock-still in front of her. The bald mustachioed man who'd been on the helicopter is standing beside her, overly-polite smile firmly in place.

Now that she's been cleaned up, the prim but disheveled woman I'd helped looks the part of a mayor more so than I would have thought. As she ushers a guard to stand by the door and prevent any intrusions, she lets out a small sigh and rubs her neck slightly.

"Stanley." She begins, glancing up to the man beside her. "What are you doing here, exactly?"

"Ah, yes." He starts, moving to where he's just behind us. "You see, in the aftermath of last night's epidemic, many of our townspeople are asking for answers. Most importantly, why their beloved mayor who'd _allegedly_ taken care of our little gang problem, ran away in the midst of the chaos!"

"I did no such thing." She shoots him a sharp glare. "This young man, Makoto, had rescued me from being… _assaulted_ by one of those people. I was injured, and there were more men heading our way. We had no choice."

"Well you must understand Ms. Leblanc… as your publicist, I only have so much I can do for you. The people are in a frenzy over this!" He puts both of his hands on the backs of our chairs. "You assured them that those hooligans were done harassing our town, and yet last night was the worst attack that we've seen! Three people lost their lives Ms. Leblanc!"

"Are you implying I _asked_ them to go back on our arrangement?" The icy tones in her voice are enough to make the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. She's not taking anything from this man.

"What I'm _implying_ ," The man starts, somehow not intimidated. "Is that you need to provide these people with an actual explanation as to why your entire reason for being elected as our mayor is now moot!"

"Fine then!" She snaps. "Set up a press conference for tomorrow at seven! I'll give them the answers they want!"

I can't see his face, but I hear him let out a tiny huff. "My dear Marie, no need to be so snippy…"

"I am not-!" Before she can even finish I feel the man move from behind me. I look back to see him shoo the guard away from the door so he can pass.

"Yeesh lady!" Akane laughs once the man is gone. "Rumpelstiltskin over there sure has your panties in a bunch!"

Marie lets out a long-suffering sigh. "Yes, well… that's not the least accurate thing I've ever heard." She taps a pen on the desk for a moment. "Anyway… let's get down to why I have you in here with me. We identified the body of the alleged killer to be Shuji Ikutsuki, a white collar criminal who'd somehow escaped police custody late last year."

"Wowee!" Akane says, eyes sparkly. "A real life fugitive!? An outlaw!?"

"…Yes." Marie nods.

"What does that have to do with us?" I ask. "I mean, it's good we got the guy and all, but…"

She stands from the desk and, with help from a crutch, walks over to a bank of consoles in the corner of the room. She sits down in the chair and motions for us to come over. "You see, any wanted felon in this country automatically has a bounty on their head. The amount of money depends on not only whether or not they're human or Ultimate, but also on the severity of the crime."

"Go on…" I say. I certainly hope I'm not on that list.

Marie seems to notice me tensing up and offers a tiny smile of reassurance. "If I had seen you on here, we wouldn't be having this discussion. Now…" She types in the killer's name. "As you can see, Mr. Ikutsuki only had a small bid on him; about five grand. But when we search for _Killer at Large,_ we get-"

"What's a killer at large?" Akane asks, rudely cutting the woman off. "And isn't five grand a bunch of money?"

Marie doesn't seem to mind terribly. "Any listing under the _Killer at Large_ section of the database is for not only murderers, but for any other high profile crime in which the suspect is unidentified or only has a tiny amount of information known about them. That can include rapists, pedophiles, cannibals, mad scientists, cult leaders… you get the point." She starts typing some things in, quickly navigating the database like it was second nature. "To answer your second question though, five-thousand dollars doesn't stretch far for most bounty hunters. People like that usually only jump on the high profile cases, such as…" After a few more clicks, a popup flies onto the screen.

**GIANT CLAW KILLER**

"Giant Claw Killer…?" Akane and I say simultaneously. Akane snorts and slaps a hand to her mouth to hide her grin, and I can't help but shoot a side-long glance at Marie.

"Trust me, I'm not the one who came up with that name." She huffs. "Just read it."

I turn my attention to the bold black letters on the screen. _"…Unknown killer on the loose in the Highland Forest area. Forty three confirmed victims from the surrounding towns/villages/cities, including five SUCS agents and an entire general army squadron consisting of twenty-two foot soldiers. They are armed with a strange weapon consisting of two mechanized arms. Believed to be a male in their mid to late twenties."_

As I scan the information noted, I see that Marie's description was right on the mark; there really wasn't much known about him until now. I set my eyes back on the screen. _"Let's see… any person capable of taking down and bringing this individual to justice will receive an award of… of…!?"_

"An award of fifty thousand dollars!?" I blurt. Akane's eyes go sparkly.

"God _damn_! That much money would by some pretty fucking tasty food!" Her mouth starts to water a little. "Seems like messing with that guy paid off!"

"Yep." Marie affirms. "Not bad for a human's bounty. A few guys had been skulking around for him just because they thought he'd be an easy cash grab, but none of them came close." She spins in the chair so that she's facing us. "Congrats you two."

Akane lets out a low whistle. "Damn, this is pretty sweet… I've never had money of my own before! How do we get our pay?"

"Hang on a bit." Marie states. "There's a small… perquisite. You need to have a law official verify your claim."

"Didn't you already do that?" I ask.

"I did." She agrees. "But I'd also said I had a small favor to ask of you…."

"I knew you were fucking shady!" Akane yells.

"Now now." Marie smiles. "It's actually just an errand to the town about a twelve hours east from this one. I've tried to alert all the towns in the area that the killer in the woods has been eradicated, but I can't get in contact with anyone from there. So…" She takes the crutch and walks over to the desk, picking up a small manila envelope. "Take this to the mayor over there. Once you get back, I'll have everything ready for you to pick up."

She hobbles over to hand me the envelope, but for some reason she trips. I manage to catch her just as she tips over my way. "H-hey, are you okay!?"

"Open that envelope once you're a safe distance from the town." She hurriedly whispers, surprising me. "It's vital that you do."

It only takes me a second to figure out that she'd "tripped" on purpose. She quickly steadies her crutch back on the floor and lets out a self-depreciating sigh. "I'm fine… so sorry Makoto, I'm not used to using this thing."

"I-Its fine…" I say, a little stunned. This woman is an enigma; why can't she just tell us what she wants to say here? I want to ask… but if she's gone through this trouble already, then there has to be a reason for it. Akane looks dubious, but surprisingly says nothing.

"Anyway, it's a small favor to ask in return for that large a sum of money. I'm sure you'll be back here before I even deliver the press conference." She walks towards the door, dismissing the guard with a nod. "Now, if you'll follow this gentleman out, he'll be sure to give you your original bag along with some extra supplies. Be safe."

She strides out of the room as gracefully as one can on a crutch. I share a look with Akane.

Something isn't right here.

* * *

"Akane…"

She starts walking backwards along the road we're on as she looks at me curiously. We've been walking for an hour or so, so I think we're at least a good distance away by now.

"Finally gonna peek in the envelope Makoto?" Akane asks.

"W-Well… yeah." I say, surprised. "How did you know I was going to though?"

She snorts. "Never underestimate my instincts!" She stops in her tracks and crosses her arms, seriously nodding to herself. "Sometimes you just know things. Like when you're close to a good restaurant or have to go to the bathroom." She puts a finger too her lips. "And she was sorta loud when she whispered too, so there's that!"

"…Right." I pull the padded envelope out of the bag and quickly rip the top off. Reaching inside, there's a phone… an extremely nice and hi-tech one at that. Next, I pull out a small note, which simply reads:

_**Unlock and hit play.** _

_**Code: 0000** _

I raise an eyebrow as I turn the device on to do as instructed. Once I have the code typed in, the screen unlocks to what appears to be a video. I look to Akane.

"Get on with it already!" She huffs. "I wanna see what this chick's deal is!"

"Fine…" I say. I tap the on-screen display to start it up, only for a slightly larger hologram screen to be projected out of the phone. It takes a minute to load, but after a little bit of waiting, Marie appears on screen.

" **Makoto. If you're watching this, it means you were trustworthy enough to at least listen to my request. As you can guess by now, it's not exactly what I had asked of you back in the office."** She sighs. **"Where to begin… I assume you recall how I'd told you about the gang, the Crazy Diamonds, and how I'd said they attacked the town?"** A rhetorical question, obviously. **"Well, that's who they'd _claimed_ to be at least."**

Within the pre-recorded message, Marie explains that the Crazy Diamonds are a gang made up of human and Ultimate alike. About two years ago, they were wreaking havoc in the town, not so much as in a criminal way, but in a way that teenage punks would be expected to act. Apparently most of the members couldn't be a day over twenty by now, and that was pushing it.

" **Yet for the past several months, we've been attacked by groups of men… full grown men who claim to be the Crazy Diamonds."** Marie looks deeply troubled talking about this as she has to pause for a moment to collect her words. **"I made a deal with the gang that ultimately led me to become mayor, and for them to leave our town alone for good. But in the past six months…"** She stops. **"There's been murdering, stealing,** _ **raping…**_ **all things the original group never did. All things far beyond what I thought they were capable of doing."**

From what little I've seen of her, Marie seems to have an uncanny ability to keep a cool head. Yet as she talks, I can't help but feel like this is a difficult subject for her. She continues. **"I want you to go to their base and find out the truth. I don't believe for a moment that they're letting middle-aged men with a penchant for murder into their group, let alone attacking our town after how we'd ended things."** She bites her lip slightly. **"However… if this really is their doing without a shadow of a doubt, I have to ask the two of you to take them down. I realize it's a lot, and I'd understand if you simply walked away, but-"**

"Akane!" I yell. She just shut off the phone!

"Blah blah blah!" Akane makes a talking gesture with her hand. "I get it! Senorita Stuffy Pants wants us to go off and bust these gangbanger's skulls!" She rubs her head in frustration. "But I'll be damned if I listen to that long-winded broad beg us to help! I mean shit, I bet she could go on for _hours_!"

I scowl a little and deposit the phone in the bag Marie had provided for us. In addition to food and water, she gave us a new map, some basic first aid supplies, and a brand new pistol that's currently holstered to my hip. "Look, she might have had something important to say about the gang!" I frown over to the tall girl, only to see that she's started skipping her way down the road. "And we don't even know where these people are supposed to be!"

"She said east when we left!" Akane says, turning back to me. How she manages to walk backwards without tripping I'll never know. "Besides, what do a couple of thugs got on you n' me? We're a tag team for the ages!"

"How so?" I adjust the bag on my shoulder. "I'm not exactly good in hand to hand combat Akane, and I can only barely handle a gun…"

"Well, if I do most of the fighting, and if you make things just conveniently happen, then we can't lose right? Right! Plus…" She turns back to face the road. "Since you're so lucky, there's _no way_ you can miss with a gun like that! C'mon, this brawl is gonna be a breeze!"

As I watch Akane act like a child who's about to go and pick out a new toy from the store, I can't help but feel worried about the rest of this journey.

" _Are we really going to be okay like this…?"_ As she springs forward another step, something occurs to me.

"Why the hell do you think we're going to fight them right off the bat!?"


	4. EPISODE THREE: Ready to Fight! But its Not Their Fault!?

"Fucking hell, is this forest _made_ of thorns!?"

"Akane!" I whisper frantically. "Would you be _quiet_?! We are literally right next to their base!"

"Man, you say that… but look!" She points to the large factory we've managed to find in the middle of nowhere. "The place is completely dark! You sure the info we got was legit?"

I grimace. "Not entirely." Which is the truth. Looking back, maybe asking an old gypsy woman for directions was a bad idea... Actually, anything having to do with an old gypsy woman is a bad idea. Or at least that's what the movies have taught me. "But we don't have any other leads, and it's already dark out… we don't have much of a choice!"

"Maaaan." Akane drawls. "This Marie lady had better give us our cash for this! I haven't gotten to bust a single skull _all day_ , and we're supposed to be going after a gang! What kinda bull is that!?"

"The good kind!" I adjust the bag on my shoulder. It really is a little heavy, but I'm not about to push all the work on Akane. "Now look, here's what we need to-"

"Charge!" Akane screams suddenly, running through the thick foliage. "Take no prisoners Makoto! We'll beat the truth outta them one way or another!"

"Akane wait…!" I yell, running after her. God forbid this girl stop to think about things rationally for a moment!

Nope, that'd be too easy.

It doesn't take long for me to get to the factory, though in more time than it had taken for my speedy companion to get there. The doors had already been kicked in.

"Echo!" Akane screams. "Yo fucktards, anyone home?"

"Akane!" I yell. "Are you _trying_ to get us killed?!"

"Look though!" She says. "The place is completely empty! Deserted!"

I walk in, using the moonlight to get a feel for my surroundings. It's a relatively simple layout consisting of one big room. There's some machinery in the corner that was used for god knows what at some point, but for the most part it's open space.

…I say that, but the floor is actually littered with mattresses.

"It does look like people live here though…" I mumble. "I guess we missed them." I round on my tanned companion, who was cleaning out her ear with her pinky. "Which is a good thing the way you went about it!"

"Hey, we're dealing with a gang right?" She asks in a pout, flicking away a surprisingly large glob of earwax. "Ain't no way they'd let us talk with their leader if we asked!"

I frown. "You have a point…" I reluctantly admit. "But what are we supposed to do now? Wait for them to get back?"

"Hmm…" She scratches her chin in thought. "Well, probably. Oh, I know!" She dashes over to the wall and starts sliding along it. I'm about to ask what she's doing, but suddenly the large space floods with light. "If we do this, then they're bound to know someone's home!"

As odd as her reasoning is, I can't disagree with it. It'd suck if they came in here and got the jump on us. "Well, alright." I yawn and slump down against the wall, dropping the bag from my shoulders. "I guess we'll rest till then, huh?"

"…" Akane stares at me for just a moment before turning to the sea of mattresses that seem to take up most of the factory.

She's being quiet. Disturbingly quiet.

"Akane?" I ask. "What are you looking at…?"

I almost hear the gears turning in her head come to a screeching halt as she suddenly bends over and picks up the mattress nearest to her and flings it clear across the factory.

"What the hell-!?" I yell at her unexpected behavior.

"We can't just sit around till they come back!" She yells as she hurls another white rectangle to the same place she tossed the first one. "We need to show 'em that we mean business! Which is why..!" With speed only and Ultimate can muster, she starts tossing every mattress in the factory towards the back. As they fly, blankets and porn magazines of startling variety are flung around haphazardly, one magazine even smacking me in the face, much to my dismay.

"Makoto, lookie lookie!" Akane says after a moment of silence. I quickly pull the magazine off my face, hoping to god it's not as red as it feels. My worry vanishes once I see what she's talking about.

"Holy crap!" I scream. The pile nearly reaches the ceiling of the space, and it's roughly as wide as my old house. "What was the point in this Akane!? You just messed with their stuff big time!"

"That's the point!" She jumps down, ignoring how her skirt flips up and leaves her exposed for a few seconds. When she lands, she gives me the best "duh, obviously" look she can possibly muster. "See, what kinda nut job is going to do this to a gang? They ain't gonna expect this, and then we can get the jump on them while they're oogling my masterpiece!"

"While I understand wanting to surprise them," I start, pinching the bridge of my nose. "I don't think making a mattress mountain is the solution! They'll be pissed!"

"Tch, lighten up! It's gonna give us a total tactical advantage!" She quickly kicks our bag of supplies out of sight and hauls me onto her shoulder, taking a few leaps and bounds to reach the top. She drops me at the summit and plops down next to me. "I can't wait to see the look on their faces…!"

"…Are you sure this was to surprise them and not for your own amusement?"

"Nah, of course not! But say…" She grins and points to my hand. "I didn't take you for the type who liked flatties!"

…Of course I'm still holding the porno.

* * *

It's been hours.

" _Granted, I guess we could be in the wrong place, but the piles of motorcycle parts and tools piled in the back of the factory are enough of an indicator that this_ _ **is**_ _the place..."_

"So where the hell are they then!?"

I sigh. I might sound impatient, but Akane's attention span is _so_ much shorter than mine. I'm sitting on top of the recently dubbed Mount Mattriso as she rampages back and forth, clearly tired of waiting for the gang members to show up.

With a huff, she jumps up the mountain and flops down next to me. "Ungghhhh. Makotooooo. Please tell me they're gonna be here soon..."

"Why would I know when they're coming?" I ask, irritated. "Just take a nap."

"…Nah." She rolls over on her stomach and rests her head on her hands, kicking her legs back and forth in an almost girlish manner. "I'd rather get back to what we were talking about earlier!"

"I am _not_ discussing what kinds of porn I like with you!"

"But I wanna know!" She puffs out her cheeks. "The old man told me that anyone who says they don't like porn is a liar!"

"I'm not saying I don't like it!" I shriek, face boiling. "I'm just not going to talk about it!"

"Hmm…" She squints her eyes at me. "Maybe…"

"Okay, before your imagination runs wild," I start. "I don't have a preference! Porn is porn, okay!"

My face is redder than red because I yelled that and it echoed right back at me, but she doesn't seem to accept that as an answer. "Bull! You gotta like one thing over the others!"

"But I don't…" I grumble. "Can we please drop this for now?!"

"…Fine!" She says, sticking her tongue out at me. "But I'm gonna get it out of you somehow, you ass!"

"How does that make me an ass!?"

Just as she's about to retort, she stops. The roar of engines can be heard clearly from outside.

"Showtime!" She yells, hopping to her feet. She grabs one of our water bottles and hurls it at the lever that controls the lights. By some odd miracle it hits, and the entire place goes dark.

"Okay okay." She yell-whispers at me. "Once they turn the lights on, and they get all surprised that we're here, we run down and start the brawl off! Got it?"

"I really don't think that'll-"

"Shh!"

The door flies open… but I know even without being able to see clearly that something isn't right. Through the dim moonlight flooding the factory, boys big and small limp in and near collapse over each other as they sit themselves against the walls and the floor. The fact that they don't even seem to be noticing the lack of mattresses is a red flag on its own.

"Akane!" She looks down to me with a raised eyebrow at my slightly frantic tone. "I think they're all hurt!"

She grimaces. "But… my _fight_!"

"I think that's going to have to wait for now!" I say. "Look, they haven't even noticed us yet!"

As I'd said the magic words, one of the less damaged gang members has the common sense to flip the lights on. The short boy shoots a glare that could kill at Mount Mattriso, before turning and shouting at his comrades.

"Which one of you fuckers thought this would be funny?!" He shouts. "A pile of mattresses? Are you shitting me?"

I share a confused look with Akane. Have we still not been noticed?

"Ah, stuff it Takemichi!" A larger man yells from the corner, clutching a seriously mangled arm. "Whaddya doing being a hen now!? The boss is gonna get killed because of you!"

"It's not my fault our intel was shotty!" He retorts. "Sides, you were all just as eager as me to get those supplies!" Without looking back, he points back to the pile. "Which is why I'm even more pissed about _that_! We finally get wind of something that'll keep us from picking up scraps, and you idiots have the balls to make something stupid like this!?"

"Hey!" Akane yells, catching the attention of all present. "Don't you talk like that about Mount Mattriso! It's fucking glorious, got it?"

There are a few beats of silence before the boy who I assume is called Takemichi yells again. "Who the fuck is _this_ now!?"

"I'm Akane!" She yells. "And the guy next to me is Makoto! Are you fuckers the Crazy Diamonds?"

The boy snorts. "Yeah, but you're pretty fucking stupid to come in here if you were looking for us! We beat people bloody for less than this!"

"L-Look, we're not looking for trouble!" I say, slapping a hand over Akane's mouth before she can say anything else. "We just need to ask you a few things!"

"What are ya, a cop?" The boy sneers. "Look, we don't have time to deal with a kid and a dumb broad! We got bigger fish to fry, so fuck the fuck off already!"

What a mouth. "This is important!" I say, trying to reason with the green-haired spitfire of a boy. "Some gang just trashed a town, and…!"

"Doesn't sound my problem!" He yells back. "After all, we-!"

"Takemichi, would you shut the fuck up!?" Another member yells. "With how fucked up we are already, you really think we're up to fighting another battle for your shitty ass?"

"I _told_ you, that shit wasn't my fault!" He crosses his arms, and though Akane and I are basically on top of a mountain, he somehow manages to look down on us. "What are these two going to do anyw-!?"

Before the words are even out of his mouth, Akane launches down at him, swinging him high into the air by his collar.

"Shit, no way…!"

"An Ultimate!?"

"We're fucked!"

I decide to take the express way down and slide down on a mattress. "Akane, wait a second!"

"Hell no!" She says. "You were trying to be nice to this kid, and he has the balls to underestimate us like that!"

Despite being at a disadvantage, the boy doesn't seem to be willing to back down. "Put me _down_ god damn it! I'll kill you!"

"Like you can do much from up there, pipsqueak!" She says, shaking him a little for good measure. "Now listen up! Did you fuckers go and fuck up a town recently, or not!?"

"No, we didn't!" He snaps. "The boss hasn't let us go on a raid since forever ago! We're barely getting by!"

"Oh really?" Akane asks. "So why the hell was a gang claiming to be the Crazy Diamonds while they fucked shit up, huh? You lie any more than that and I'll set your pants on fire!"

"What are you talking about, bitch!?" He says, "If I said we haven't done anything, then we haven't fucking done anything! Now put me down already!"

"Akane, seriously!" I say. "I don't think he's lying!"

"Yeah, listen to your keeper!" The boy taunts. "Otherwise he may scold you!"

"Oh, I'll listen all right!" Akane unceremoniously drops the brat on the ground, and he hits it _hard._

"Tch…!" The boy flips her off from his spot on the ground. "Fucking _cunt-_!"

"Takemichi, would you stop being a flaming ass for two seconds!?" A member jeers. "Maybe these guys can go help the boss!"

"We can help him ourselves!" He says. "We don't need two morons to swoop in and save him!"

"Did you forget the ass whoopin' we just got!?" Someone else yells. "We'll just get killed in the state we're in!"

"But-!"

"But nothing! That chick could have killed you just now if she wanted to!" A larger gang member forces himself to a stand, sporting a sliced eyebrow and a clearly broken elbow. "Look you two guys… Makoto and Akane, right?"

"Y-Yeah." I say. Even though the guy is busted up, he looks intimidating.

"This fucker right here," He points to Takemichi. "Ended up nearly getting us all killed. Mondo… the boss. He let them capture him so we could escape. That crazy motherfucker would rather die to let us all live. So… could you please go help him before that happens?"

"Dude, what the fuck are ya saying!?" Takemichi yells. "These two morons won't…!"

"Shut the fuck _up_ already, Takemichi!" The man growls and turns back to us. "I'm tossing away my pride as a Crazy Diamond to ask you two for help. We can't lose the boss. We'd all be lost without that guy… so please, go help him!"

"…" I look up to Akane. She shrugs. "Okay… tell us what happened then."

* * *

"Okay, so basically…" Akane says, sitting cross-legged in front of the man. "The little rage ball over there not only got shoddy information, but he managed to get caught and made you all have to fight these guys who managed to get the drop on you, right? So your boss man ends up letting them take him in exchange for letting you all go..."

The man nods. "The shitty part of it is that was what they were gunning for. They made sure that they'd have some sorta leverage on us so that he'd end up giving up."

"That is to say…" I scratch my head. "They wouldn't have been able to catch him otherwise?"

"Right." The man sighs. "I guess you must have heard the rumors about us right? That we're a gang made up of both humans and Ultimates?" I nod. "Well… that's only half true. The only Ultimate with us is Mondo… our boss."

I start a little. "R-Really? But I heard that most Ultimates know better than to come here because of you guys!"

"While it's true that most of us are more than capable of tag teaming a normal Ultimate…" He says, looking slightly shameful. "The real reason people fear us is because of the boss. Even by Ultimate standards he's fucking terrifying!"

"He's really that much of a badass?" Akane asks, interest piqued.

"Mondo is a strength type Ultimate." The man says, looking wistful. "But he's a crap ton stronger than most strength types. So strong in fact that he has to wear modified CC's to keep his ass in check."

"CC's?" I ask.

"Ya know," The man points to his neck. "Those collars that bitch ass people slap on Ultimates to make 'em their slaves. He's got two black ones that he wears on his biceps. They don't look like much, but he'd destroy stuff on accident all the time without them."

Akane lets out a low whistle. "Damn! So then why do we need to go help him? He could prolly off em with his pinky!"

The man grimaces. "I wouldn't go that far, but he could probably get out easily enough if he tried. The problem is that... he won't." At our confused looks, he lets out a joyless chuckle. "Mondo… ain't the sort of guy to go back on his word. He agreed to be captured in exchange for us going free. They'd probably go after us if he tried to bolt, too."

"Talk about a rock and a hard place…" I grumble. "So, what will us going in there do?"

"If you spring him and tell him that we're alright, then he should be more than willing to brawl his way out of there." He pushes himself to a stand with a grunt. "Let's move. I dunno what they want with him, but we don't have much time to waste."

"E-Eh?" I squeak. "You're coming with us? But you're hurt!"

"As long as I'm still moving, I'm still fighting for my family." He glances back. "'Sides, how do you expect to get there without help? It would take too damn long on foot, and you dunno the way."

"Are we gonna get to ride on a motorcycle!?" Akane looks positively ecstatic at this prospect. "For real!?"

"Well yeah. How the hell else are we gonna get there quick?" The man starts for the door, but is stopped when Takemichi grabs his wrist. "…What?"

"Let me go instead." He asserts, glaring at the man.

"Hah?" He grunts in a deep baritone. "You fucking lost it kid? You'll just get in the way again!"

"I'm the least hurt out of all of you, and I'm the one who led you all there in the first place!" He crosses his arms. "Plus, how the hell are you gonna drive a hog with your elbow busted to hell and back? It'd be stupid for you to go!"

"…tch!" The man clicks his tongue and steps out of the way for us, knowing full well that he has a point. "Get your ass back here as soon as you drop them off close enough! I swear to fucking god if you mess this up, I'll…!"

"I got it already!" He yells, turning around. "C'mon then! We got shit to do!"

The man flips him the bird as he storms out of the factory before turning to us. "…Good luck."

As he walks away from us, I can't help but glance out the door towards the full moon. _"This has gotten a lot more complicated than necessary…"_

"C'mon Makoto!" Akane cheers, already beside the motorcycle and a very agitated Takemichi. "Let's go, let's go!"

I sigh.

Yup, much more complicated than necessary.

* * *

We aren't wearing helmets.

I would have raised a fuss about it if we didn't need to hurry, but its absolutely horrifying to have the wind whip around my ears as we rocket down the abandoned road. Akane is strapped in the side car, completely unfazed by the fact that if we tipped over now we'd be just another gooey stain on the road. I have my arms wrapped around Takemichi's waist as he focuses on the road, but I eventually work up the nerve to talk to him.

"So, uh…" I say, catching his attention. "What exactly were you guys trying to do when you got caught off-guard like that?"

"…" He seems to be weighing his options as to whether or not he needs to tell me. After a few beats of nothing but wind and the sound of the engine, he speaks up. "It was for supplies. Like money, food, water, ect."

"Uhm…" I feel confused. "I thought you guys… you know, _took_ what you needed?"

"Not since a few years ago." Takemichi grunts.

He… doesn't seem to want to talk about it. "Marie mentioned something about that too…"

Upon hearing that name he immediately tenses and hits the breaks _hard_. We screech to a stop. "Did you just fucking say _Marie?_ "

I clutch my chest in an attempt to calm down after our sudden stop. Akane just looks confused as to why her ride ended early. "Yes, I did! Why the hell did you suddenly stop like that!?"

"Does she have somethin' to do with this?" He asks, voice low. "If so, I swear to god I'll…!"

"H-Hang on a minute Takemichi! Marie didn't pull a hit on you guys or anything if that's what you're thinking! She's the mayor of the town that got attacked by a gang! She wanted us to make sure it wasn't really you guys!"

He looks shocked for a brief moment before grunting and taking off again. We fall into an uncomfortable silence for a good five minutes before he decides to talk again.

"Marie, she… was dating the boss' brother."

My breath hitches at the sudden development. "R-Really?"

He nods. "Mondo's bro… Daiya. He was the head of the gang at the time. Back then we ran an auto shop to pay for shit we needed as we raised hell all over the place. We'd go smash shit, collect dues, and beat ass wherever necessary… it was the life."

I gulp as I venture to ask what's probably a very touchy question. "What… happened, exactly? With Marie and everything?"

"Daiya was like Mondo. An Ultimate among Ultimates. Marie's father was the mayor at the time, and being the douche he was, told us to fuck off outta the town cause he didn't want Daiya seeing her anymore. Under the guise of being tired of our shit, he rallied a mob and decided to torch our shop. Mondo wanted to stay and fight, but Daiya disagreed; we didn't know then that he and Marie were planning to elope."

He turns a sharp corner and continues. "They took too long bickering. Before we knew it the town was on us, the mayor personally busting in with a shotgun to lead his crusade. Molotov cocktails were thrown, and the whole place went up in flames instantly. That fucking guy… while everyone else had the common sense to scram, he decided to stay in the burning building holding both Mondo and Daiya at gunpoint. We were all long gone at this point, but from what I understand, that guy moved to shoot Mondo… and Daiya pushed him out of the way. Took a buck shot right to the heart… no one is strong enough to survive that for long, Ultimate or not."

We screech to a halt once we're able to see lights in the distance. "Long story short, Mondo goes berserk, smashes the fucker's skull in with his own gun, and Marie meets him outside telling him to scram. She wasn't pissed from what I hear, but… Mondo was never the same since. It's almost like he has a death wish now." He looks at me as I step off the bike. "But look... you gotta save him. He's our leader, and a damn good one at that! Don't let him sit there and toss his life away for shits and giggles, alright…? I'm out."

With his story finished, he barely waits for Akane to step out of the side car before taking off into the night. She flips him the bird as he vanishes. "What an ass!"

"Were you listening at all…?" She looks at me for a moment before shaking her head. "Didn't think so…"

"Not that it matters!" She chirps, motioning towards the tiny abandoned town. "Hear that? People are over there talking and shit! Let's get going and spring this guy so we can get our cash!"

Not wanting to argue, I nod and take the lead. It doesn't take us long to find the place; a huge group of people are sitting around a massive bonfire, drinking and laughing like they'd just won the lottery.

As we sneak around the back, I manage to catch bits and pieces of conversation.

"…made it too easy…"

"…keep him here till morning, and then…"

"…pin the whole thing on those dumbass kids!"

"Man!" Akane gripes. "This whole place reeks of booze...! What the hell is going on?"

"I dunno, but… shit!" I slap Akane's arm to get her attention. "Look over there!"

Over in the direction I'm pointing is a strange sight. At first glance you wouldn't really be able to tell what it was, but on closer inspection it's clearly a person.

Sitting in a cage.

With a bag over his head.

And his arms and legs almost completely bound in stark white control collars… the only thing breaking the white being the two clearly black bands on his biceps.

"That's gotta be him… that's Mondo!"


	5. EPISODE FOUR: An Unexpected Twist! The Gang Leader is a Kid!?

Akane and I exchange glances. The bound figure in the distance is probably this Mondo guy, but…

"I was expecting someone… bigger." Akane scratches her head in confusion. "The way people were talking about him made me think he'd be a fucking monster."

"Well, no one would expect you to be an Ultimate at first glance either." I scan the area around the cage; surprisingly enough, there seems to be only one guy standing guard over him. "Don't you think that's weird though? The security seems a little…"

Akane snorts. "Trust me, those collars are no joke. If the guard doesn't like what he's doing, he'll just push a button and fry the guy."

"F-Fry!?" I sputter. "I thought those collars just limited an Ultimate's powers!"

"Nope." Akane crosses her eyes in thought. "Well, I mean... They _do_ have that kind too, but they also have the kind that they use for slaves that'll give a mean shock if they go against orders. Hard to say which kind he has on though."

"Jesus!" I hiss out. I couldn't imagine that sort of pain. "So… what should we do then? Go and take out the guard?"

"Prolly." She nods. "I mean, everyone else is out there getting hammered. S'not like we'll have to deal with reinforcements."

"Okay then." I fish out a small knife from my pocket and flip it open. "While you take out the guard, I'll cut him loose… and then we'll run. Sound fair?"

She lets out a huff. "Yeah, fine. I _still_ haven't had a good fight though…"

I decide to ignore her blatant itch to fight in favor of sneaking as quietly as I can over to where our target is. Akane, who was hot on my heels, suddenly bolts from her place beside me and lands a flying kick right on the side of the guard's head.

"Ooghf!"

Taking his grunt of pain as my cue, I run over to the cage and jam the small knife in the door. It breaks a lot easier than I had expected; it only took a few twists for the door to pop open.

"Alright!" I quickly make my way over to the person we were tasked with saving. Kneeling down beside him, he jerks at the sudden presence. "H-Hey, it's alright! You're Mondo right?" It's a little hard to tell with the bag over his head, but I think he nods. "We're here to help you escape! Just hold still…"

I take care not to cut him as I sever the rope that's keeping the bag on his head. When I pull it off, I feel almost stunned by what I find. Not a battle-worn mountain of a man that I was expecting, but… a teenager.

A guy who can't be much older than me!

As much as I want to gape like an idiot at this point, I decide against it when I notice that he's been gagged. Once again, I use my knife to carefully cut away his bindings. As soon as I pull the cloth from his mouth, he turns away and spits.

"Fuck, that shit's nasty!" He yell-whispers. He turns around and looks me dead in the eye, clearly not impressed with his savior. "The hell? Who are you?"

"Makoto!" Akane waves, pointing in the direction of the men. "I think they mighta heard the guy get knocked out!"

I scowl a little; drunk or not, I was still hoping to avoid a fight. "It looks like they weren't as hammered as we thought… look, I'll explain who I am later, but right now we-"

"I ain't going anywhere." Mondo says, turning his head back to the front.

"Hah?"

"I _said_ ," He glares up at me in a way that makes me feel like _I'm_ the one tied up. "I. Ain't. Goin'. Anywhere!"

"Why not!?" I yell. "We're here to help you!"

"If I go off running, those guys are gonna go after my gang. After the beating they just took, there's no way in hell they won't be killed!"

I walk around so that I'm right in front of him and kneel down. "Your gang asked us to come and help you. Takemichi even drove us here!"

This clearly catches his attention; his eyes snap up to meet mine, almost completely disbelieving. "'Michi wouldn't go off and ask strangers for help! 'Specially not a shrimp like you and some chick!"

"It's a really long story, but it's true!" I hear the voices of the men come closer as I talk. So much for not starting a fight. "Look, I get that it's weird to trust people you just met…" I trail off thinking about how ironic it is for me to be saying this, given that I'm practically in the same boat with Akane. "A-Anyway, I overheard those guys talking about pinning something on you tomorrow, and I know that probably includes your friends too! So please, just trust us for a little while!"

As the boy sits and stares at me, seemingly thinking about his answer, the men finally get to where we are. "The fuck…? How did you brats get here!?"

Akane, contrary to the situation, looks like she could burst with happiness. "Finally!" Before the men even have a chance to pull their guns, Akane jumps high in the air and lands right on top of a goon who was carrying what appeared to be a bazooka. "Finally I get to bash some skulls!"

"Don't just _stand_ there!" Someone yells from the crowd. "Kill them!"

Akane heaves the large metal weapon on her shoulders. "Bring it on!" She once again jumps high in the air, this time hurling the loaded weapon down at the crowd. Men open fire at her, but she's too fast; she rebounds off one of the ruined buildings and lands a few more well-timed kicks on one of the assailants.

I turn back to Mondo, who still seems reluctant to move for whatever reason. "I don't know what your issue is, but there's more at stake here than just your life! If you think that doing whatever it is you're doing is going to solve this, then you're _dead wron_ g; it'll only mean you died in the most meaningless way possible!"

I stiffen as I hear the eerie sound of a gun being cocked behind me. "You kids sure have some nerve, coming to save your boss after the pounding we gave you earlier." I turn back to see a hulk of a man pointing a shotgun straight at me through the bars of the cage. "We let you rats go free! You should've been thankful for that alone!"

I feel a chill run down my spine as the man continues, using a single hand to point the massive gun in my direction. "Now, you have two options: step aside and let me shoot him, or I'll shoot you and _then_ him. Boss said he would prefer it if we brought him back alive, but it's turning out to be more trouble than it's worth with all you runts coming and going. He'll have to make do with a corpse."

Although I'm not exactly certain what he intends to do with Mondo, I know he isn't just delivering empty threats. I gulp. "I'm… not going to move."

Mondo, who'd been silent till now, audibly gapes from behind me. "Are you a fucking idiot?"

"Clearly he must be." The man says. "Either that or incredibly loyal. You standing there won't change a thing you know."

I feel myself start to shake a little, but I manage to glare at the man. _"God, please let this work! If you're going to stick me with this ability, then…!"_

"Either way, it's no skin off my nose." He points the gun straight at my head. "Just one more bullet that I'll have to use."

" _Please, **please** , let it work when I need it to!"_

"Run, you dipshit!" Mondo yells from behind me. "You seriously gonna stand there like that!? I don't even _know_ you!"

I'm not sure what possesses me to do this, but even though I'm terrified, I glance back to the person I've been tasked with saving. I take a deep breath and force the best smile I can under the circumstances.

"My name's Makoto Naegi. It's nice to meet you."

And then the gun goes off.

I'm thrown back from the force of the explosion… but there's no real pain. My vision swims, forcing me to take a minute for me to collect myself before I'm able see what had happened.

"Fuck! M-My arm…!"

The man's gun backfired _completely_.

He's currently writhing on the ground, clutching what's left of his right arm with his good hand. There are bits and pieces of the gun lodged in his body, with one particularly large piece jutting out from his cheek. By some not-so-odd miracle… none of the shrapnel came close to hitting me.

"Augh!" The man yells, in both pain and fury. "You bastard, you _bastard_! What did you do to my gun!?"

"What the hell…?" I suddenly come to realize that I've landed right in the boy's lap, who's currently looking down at me in complete shock. I guess that's why it didn't hurt. "Did you know that was gonna happen..?"

I let out a laugh, my brain finally catching up to what's going on. "No, actually. I wasn't sure if my luck was going to kick in or not."

"Your luck…?" Mondo just shakes his head slightly, as if he's trying to comprehend what I just said. "You mean to say you gambled your fucking life for a damn stranger?"

"Ahaha… I guess I did, huh?" As I say this, I heave myself off him and stand up. My head feels slightly fuzzy from the force of the blast, but I manage to stay on my feet. I start walking out towards where Akane is fighting. "Marie wouldn't have sent us here if she thought you were a bad person, and I didn't want someone to just give up their life when I know they have a chance."

"Marie…!? Hang on a second!" I hear him force himself to a stand against the bars, so I turn around just as I'm out the door. "Just where the hell are you going?"

"I need to help Akane." I turn around and face him, but the simple action makes my vison swim. "As strong as she is, I can't just leave her alone."

Mondo growls, clearly unhappy with my answer. "You talkin' about me having a death wish...? Look at you! You're barely able to stand straight, ya fucking hypocrite!"

I know full well he has a point; really, I do. "Even so…!" I turn around and hope to finally be on my way to where I need to be, but once again I'm stopped…

"You motherfucker…!"

Except this time, it's by the man who'd just pointed a shotgun at my head.

With his stump arm still gushing blood, he seizes me by the collar and lifts me high into the air. "I'll kill you! My arm… Look at it! I'll rip your arm off, so slowly, so _painfully_ that you'll beg for death!" I start flailing in an attempt to get away, but it's no use; my head is still swimming. "I'll pay you back tenfold for what you did to me…!"

" _Crap…"_ I crush my eyes shut in anticipation of being thrown around like a rag doll, but for some reason the sensation never comes.

I crack an eye open. _"What's going on…?"_

"Ya know asshole, it's real rude to walk away when someone's talking to ya."

I gape.

Standing there, completely unbound, is Mondo. My massive assailant jerks around in an effort to get free, struggling as though his wrist was pinned under a truck. Mondo, on the other hand, doesn't seem to be putting any effort into keeping him still.

"W-What? But weren't you…? The collars!" The man barely manages to get out a coherent sentence, but if the way Mondo snorts is any indication, he seems to get the message.

"Those shitty things?" He cracks his neck, apparently having gone stiff from sitting in captivity for so long. "I coulda snapped all of those whenever I wanted. Check your inventory next time, ya lazy douche."

"Those were state of the art-!" The man gasps in pain and trails off as Mondo tightens his grip ever so slightly.

"Anyway..." He looks over to me. "While you may be full of shit, you proved to me that you have balls. I gotta respect that. What didja say your name was again?"

I feel extremely confused. Am I seriously having a casual conversation while dangling in the air?

"M-Makoto Naegi…?" I answer.

"Makoto eh?" He nods to himself. "Alright, sweet. Good to meet ya… Name's Mondo Owada."

And then I hear a crack. I almost drop to the ground, but Mondo catches me. The nameless man doesn't get the same luxury and falls to the ground with a heavy thud.

"Uhm…" I look up at the boy, who seems to be studying me. "Thanks."

"Gotta return a favor, don't I?" He asks. I feel a little off-put at his sudden change of heart, but I'm not complaining. If he hadn't stepped in, I would have been ripped to shreds for sure.

"Yo, Makoto! I took care of all those-" Akane walks over to us, but stops suddenly. "Well then! I see you sprung our prisoner!"

"Er… yeah?" I frown at the shit-eating grin she has on her face. "What's with the look…?"

"I guess it must be close to Christmas!" She flashes a thumbs-up. "Cause I've found me some ho-ho-homos!"

* * *

"…And that about sums it up."

After our successful rescue (?), we piled all the kidnappers into the cage that Mondo had been locked in. Needless to say he had more than a few questions for us, so I figured it'd be better not to waste any time and get the gang leader filled in. I tell him about how we met Marie, her request, and subsequently his gang's request, and about how I'm fairly certain at this point that whatever these guys were planning has to do with Marie's little dilemma.

"Although I'm not really sure how they're linked…" I shift a little, attempting to keep my weight off my rear end. I manage to sneak a little glare Akane's way every time the pain flares up, but I don't complain… even if it's her fault that Mondo dropped me on my butt.

Mondo nods slightly, staying silent. I'd almost say he were brooding if not for the fact that he was relieved that his friends really were alright.

" _It was like Takemichi said though."_ I think, staring at the boy. Although he's not exactly what I expected from a gang leader, I can't help but feel like he's slightly intimidating. He's tanned, muscular, and his features, while young, are clearly more defined than mine. Plain and simple, he looks _strong_. _"But when he was in that cage, it's like he'd given up. Like he just didn't want to bother trying anymore."_

So… what changed?

"Whelp." Akane stands, breaking the silence. "We don't got the answer, right?" She points her thumb back to where the cage is. "But those guys do."

"You think we can get them to tell us who they work for…?" I gingerly stand. "I mean, it's not a bad idea to try, but what if they don't?"

"Oh c'mon Makoto, have a little faith!" She slaps a hand to her chest, nostrils flaring. "You n' me are Ultimates! We got this!"

I frown. "Akane, I really don't think that my "power" is going to be much help here." Using air quotes for emphasis, I start trying to think. "I mean, luck doesn't do much good when trying to interrogate someone, right? You need something real to get answers!"

"Hey, aren't you two forgettin' about me?" We both turn to look at Mondo, who's standing with his arms crossed. "I got more involved in this than you two, so I'm obviously gonna be helping to get those answers."

Akane raises an eyebrow. "Yeah? And whaddya have in mind for this?"

He smirks in a way that's not kind-hearted in the least. "Just a quick game of catch is all."

"Okay, okay, hang on!" I say, not liking the sound of that smirk. "Let's just try to ask them nicely first! They've already been beat up a lot today! Maybe they'll just…"

* * *

 

"Die! They're absolutely going to die at this rate!"

I can't help but watch in both awe and horror as the cage the men are in is passed effortlessly back and forth between Akane and our temporary companion. After a collective "fuck you" in response to my questioning, the men found out that they gave the _wrong_ answer. Akane hopped on top of the cage and Mondo, in his second display of power this evening, hurled it high in the air. I was almost lost on Akane's purpose… until she used her legs to launch the crate back down towards Mondo.

"Ahh! What the fuck!?"

"Gwaaagh-!"

"Please, please no more..!"

This has been going on for a good ten minutes.

Like clockwork, Akane and Mondo effortlessly rocket the cage full of men back and forth between them, Akane grinning like she were on a moon bounce and _not_ on a cage full of shrieking grown men. Meanwhile on the earth, Mondo just looks plain _bored_ as he tosses the metal box.

"Man, you got the fun job!" He gripes, waiting to catch the cage again. "Why the fuck did you get to be on top?"

A metal clang resounds through the area as Akane returns the object. "Hey, the only way I could have been on the bottom is if I was laying on my back!" Another clang. "Makoto is always bitching about me flashing my panties, so this was the obvious choice!"

"You're full of shit!" He yells. "You just called it 'cause it's the fun job! I can see your panties now, you she-man!"

Well they're just getting along _swimmingly_.

"F-Fuck, please!" A man yells out from inside. "I'll talk, I'll talk! Please just make them stop..!"

"Finally!" Mondo doesn't catch the cage the next time it falls, instead letting it hit the earth with a clatter. The man who'd called out is clinging to the bars for dear life, with splatters of his and his companions vomit all over him. Mondo goes up to him and leers. "So? What didja want with me?"

"W-We were told to get you alone and keep it so you could be arrested!" The man is clearly panicked, not wanting to face being tossed around again. "It was supposed to be easy he said! He needed you to take the fall for the raid that's gonna happen in a few hours!"

"What raid?" I ask, coming up beside the gang leader.

"A-Ah, that is…" Mondo glares when the man takes too long to respond. "Vigrid! It's Vigrid, alright!? The boss has been planning to take control of that shitty town for years! It's the hub around here, right in the middle of everything! He'd run the whole area if he took control from that lady!"

"…" The gang leader stares at the man in shock before taking off in a dead run towards the road. "Shit…!"

"Wait, Mondo!" I look to Akane, but she's already a few steps ahead of me. She immediately slings me on her shoulder. I wouldn't be able to keep pace with either of them.

When we catch up with him, it's just short of the main road. "Dude, would you chill for a second? What's the rush?"

"They're gonna kill her…!" He says, screeching to a halt. The look in his eyes is a combination of fear, panic, and anger; a feral look. "That broad, Marie… they're gonna murder her! That's why they needed me…!" He slams his fist on a tree, leaving a sizable dent in the bark. "Fuck!"

"Slow down!" I say, prying Akane's arm off me. "Why would they want to pin the crime on you?"

It looks like answering the question is the absolute last thing Mondo wants to do, but the look on his face tells me that he doesn't think he has a choice. "…She was gonna marry my bro… a-and I killed her father when he killed him."

The information isn't what causes me to jump in surprise; I already knew it. What surprises me is how small, how _broken_ he looks as he practically forces himself to tell such a haunting story to a couple of people he'd just met.

Once he finishes, Akane looks strangely unsettled. I'd almost forgotten she wasn't awake for Takemichi's version. "We woulda been fine with the bare minimum."

"I _did_ give you the bare minimum." Mondo's lips curl into a snarl, but it's not a threatening one… it reminds me more of a caged animal than anything. "I get it now; whoever this fucker is knows about what happened that night. Making the whole thing look like my revenge on her... tch!" He walks toward the motorcycle. "I don't care if I'm walking into a trap, I can't let anyone else get hurt cause of me! I'll waste that fucker before he even gets the chance to lay a finger on her!"

"Is that your idea? To kill him?" I run and stand in front of him, earning a withering glare from the larger boy. "You don't even know who's pulling the strings! Charging in like a madman while a bunch of people claiming to be your gang are ransacking the town is just gonna dig your grave deeper! You shouldn't waste your life like that!"

"You think I care?" The boy snarls, getting down on my level. "You think I actually _care!?_ I haven't cared for years! I should have been the one that died that night, not Daiya!"

"T-That's not-!"

He shakes his head and seizes my collar. "You don't fucking _know_ … You don't know what it's like to lose everything! Don't you start preaching to me about something you can't even begin to understand!"

"Hey, hold the motherfucking phone here!" Akane yanks me out of his grasp and stands toe-to-toe with the boy. "You think he doesn't know? You're the one who doesn't know, douchecanoe! You're assuming that he's clueless, but you dunno that just a week ago he was-"

"Akane!" I yell.

"But Makoto!" She rounds on me, pointing an accusing finger back towards the gang leader. "You really just gonna let this guy say that stuff? You got screwed _way_ more than him!"

"It's not a contest Akane!" I say, crossing my arms. "What matters _now_ is us getting back to that town before Marie is murdered, and Mondo and his gang take the fall!"

"Hell no!" Mondo yells and somehow manages to glare even harder. "You think I'm letting you two get in my way? That's-"

"Ha!" Akane snorts loud. "More like _you'd_ get in _our_ way, ya emotional twat! 'Blerrgh, my name is Marco and I can't accept the fact that I'm not the only person in the world who has shit happen to em!' Boo-fucking-hoo!" She snatches up my wrist and flips him the bird. "While you're sittin' here being a midget-"

"Er…" I raise my hand. "You mean martyr?"

"Whatever!" She lets out a huff and continues. "While you're sitting here being douche and carrying on about how it's all on you, Makoto is worrying about Marie _and_ your shitty gang! A complete stranger is worrying more about people _you_ know than _you_ are!"

"Akane!" I smack her arm and pull her back. "He's obviously worried about them! Don't be so harsh!" She grumbles in protest, but backs down regardless. I walk up to Mondo; he looks like the weight of the world is on his shoulders. "Look… three heads are better than one. I can understand why you feel at fault for what happened, but we need to focus! What we do and don't understand doesn't change the fact that we can help you!"

"…" His gaze, which he was carefully keeping trained on the ground, snaps to meet mine. "…Fine. Since you two idiots won't listen to me anyway…" He turns to Akane. "You. Go and get whoever's fit enough to help us back at the base."

"Why are you giving me a lame job!?" She gripes.

"Cause you can run fast, ya dipshit!" Mondo snaps. "I'll take him on my hog and start down that way. Get your ass moving!"

"This fucker…" Despite saying this, Akane dashes off towards the road. "Jus' down this way right? Can't be that hard to find my way back!" She doesn't wait for an answer to her probably important question; instead, she runs off into the darkness.

"What a fucking idiot." Mondo spits. He motions with his chin for me to follow him. "C'mon, it won't take long for us to get there."

"Shouldn't we wait for Akane to get some people then?" I ask.

He shakes his head. "I said that to get rid of her. They prolly couldn't help even if I wanted them to."

"…Akane could have helped though."

"That chick pisses me off, alright?" He finally clips. "You 'n me will be fine. This shouldn't take long."

In spite of my reservations, I follow him to his bike. I let him get on first before even trying to climb on his expensive looking bike; the last thing I need is him getting even angrier because I knocked it over. As soon as I wrap my arms around his waist, he starts the bike and rockets down the road.

"So…" He starts talking a few minutes into our drive. "What was that chick sayin' earlier? About you having a shittier deal than me?"

"It's nothing important." I say. "Don't let what she said bug you. Honestly, I think you probably had it rougher than me."

"Try me." He turns a corner. "We got a little while till we get there. May as well spill it."

And so I do. I give him the abridged version of course, since we don't have _that_ much time.

"…and that's about it. Akane and I have been wandering around these woods for a while trying to get on track, which is what eventually led us to what we told you about earlier." I sigh. "I told you it wasn't important though."

"…" He seems to be absorbing my words, talking a moment to mull them over before speaking. "You said that was only a week ago, right?"

I nod, but then realize he can't see me. "Yeah…"

"How… how can you talk about it so easy?" He asks. His voice is so small that I have to strain to hear it over the air rushing by us. "You don't seem all that worse off for it, if I'm being honest."

"W-Well… the first few days were hard." I justify. "But to be honest… I haven't had much time to think about it recently. Between Akane's antics and the few… er, _unfortunate_ situations that we've gotten into, it really hasn't been on my mind. I have to worry about what's going on in front of me more than anything else." I laugh a little. "Thinking about it now though, I probably wouldn't have lasted a night if Akane weren't with me. She's… well, ridiculous. She doesn't have a shred of common sense in her, she's extremely violent, and honestly if we met under normal circumstances, I'm sure I'd be terrified of her."

"Then why the hell are ya with her?" Mondo asks, somewhat incredulous.

I laugh. "Well, at first it was because I didn't really have a choice. She was supposed to take me to my real father, though I'm not sure she's aware of that herself. Anyway…" I sigh. "I guess you could say it's refreshing to be near someone completely genuine like she is. She may be crude, but she's a lot better than my dad who turned his back on me the second he learned I was an Ultimate."

"Mhm…" He grunts. "So no one really stuck with ya in the end huh…? Maybe you…"

"What was that?" I ask. The wind rushing by completely muffled the last part of what he said.

"Nothing!" He yells back. "You know, most people aren't like that. It's prolly a good thing they ran you out of that stuffy ass city if that's how people act there!"

In spite of myself, I laugh. "You think so?"

"Damn straight! A real bro sticks with you through all the shit you go through, no matter how rough it gets!"

"Kinda like your gang, right?" I ask.

He pauses. "…Yeah." He nods. "Kinda exactly like that actually. I count on them for everything."

With that, the rest of our ride goes by in silence.

* * *

Just like Mondo said, it doesn't take us long to reach Vigrid. Thankfully, unlike the other night, the skies aren't filled with fiery smoke; instead, it's almost eerily silent. Rather than riding right into town though, Mondo makes a sharp right and drives off into the woods.

He must have felt me tense up, because he laughs a little. "Chill. My bro used to drive this way to the back of her house all the time."

"R-Right…"

Within a few minutes we reach our destination. It's the very same building that we were led to when we first came into town, though it was a little hard to tell from the back at first. Mondo quickly shuts off the bike and hops off it, and I quickly follow after. "Alright… so what should we do?" He asks. "From the sound of it, it doesn't seem like this asshole has started anything yet."

"You brought us back here without a plan?" I ask, a little dubious.

"Oh, shut up." He crosses his arms. "This just seemed like the best place to hide my hog is all."

I purse my lips. "Well… It's probably not actually a bad thing that you brought us here. If we can get to Marie before whoever this guy is does, then we can possibly get the jump on him."

"You think?" I nod. His face visibly tightens as he looks towards the house. "We may be too late for that though..."

I follow his gaze up to a window that's fully lit. Given that it's either really late at night or really early in the morning, it's not normal. "…We should still go in though."

Mondo glances back to me. "You're one daring guy for someone so small."

I flush a little. "I'm not small! I'm average!" I walk past him towards the house, glancing around the corners to see if there's anyone in the area. "A-Anyway… how should we try to get in? The doors are probably locked, and it'd be too noisy to try and break them."

"That's easy." Mondo walks towards the bushes just adjacent to the house and starts poking at the ground with his foot. "Daiya used to sneak in here all the time. One time he told me about how there's a hatch around here that leads to the basement in the house. Said it was in case of emergencies or somethin'."

I raise an eyebrow in question, but quickly brush it off. _"I guess it makes sense for a mayor in a town with a bunch of gang members though…"_ I shrug and start to tap around just like Mondo is. Eventually, my foot lands with a heavy knock just by the base of a tree. "Aha!"

Kicking a few rocks aside, I find a pair of handles hidden cleverly between them. "Mondo!" I yell-whisper. "Come here, I think I found it!"

He rushes up and grins when he sees what I uncovered. "Sweet. Guess you really are lucky, huh?"

I snort. "If only I was all the time."

He opens the doors with a flick of the wrist, but scrambles to catch them when he remembers that we're supposed to stay silent. "Shit!"

Unfortunately, the doors land with a dull thud. "Ah, fuck me!" He curses and snatches my wrist, pulling me down into the cellar. "C'mon, we can't stick around now! Someone had to have heard that!"

"W-Wait, Mondo! Do you even know where we're going!?" He's pulling my arm so hard that it might pop off... literally. I don't think he realizes how much he's tugging on it right now. "Ow! Could you slow down a little too?!"

He stops abruptly at my request. "S-Sorry…"

I huff and roll my shoulder. "It's fine. Just calm down for a second though, okay?" I fish around my pocket for a second before finally finding what I was looking for. "Aha!" I pull out the pocket-sized flashlight and turn it on. From the looks of it, we're in the middle of the cellar. "Alright, where would the exit be…?"

I turn the flashlight towards Mondo, who's looking strange. "What's wrong?"

"…Nothin'." He answers. He motions towards the right. "C'mon, it looks like the stairs are that way. Turn that thing off and let's go."

I nod and follow, shoving the light back in my pocket. "Alright! That room we saw was on the second floor, right?"

"Think so…" He stops in front of the stairs. "Alright, get ready to run. Chances are that there are gonna be goons ready and waiting to stop us, so we need to haul ass."

"Right!" I say, determined. We clear the stairs in a moment, Mondo grabs the handle…

"Let's go!"

With a nod, he flings the door open and we rush out. Two men walk down the hall just as we're about to turn the corner, but Mondo takes them both out in an instant.

"The room was on the right corner of the house!" I say as we clear the stairs. Three more men seem to hear me and try to rush us, but Mondo barrels right over them.

"Got it!" He replies. He smacks another man out of the way as we turn another corner. Thanks to how dim the halls are, we soon spot our goal; there's a door just down the hall with light shining through the cracks.

Mondo doesn't pause for an instant. The poor door is left barely hanging onto a single hinge as we bust through, and inside…

"Makoto and…!?"

Marie is sitting completely unguarded with her wrists tied behind her back on a very posh looking bed.

"Marie!" I brush past Mondo and make my way over to her. "Are you alright?"

She nods. Her hair is loose, and she looks downright exhausted, but thankfully she doesn't seem to be hurt. "It wasn't too soon after you left that they decided to make their move… I'm sorry about this."

I shake my head. "It's not a problem… but why isn't there anyone watching you?"

I look to Marie expecting a reply… but I see that she wasn't even paying attention to me. Instead, her gaze is firmly locked on the only other person in the room: Mondo.

Wrists still bound in front of her, she stands and slowly walks to stand in front of him. Then, without warning, she hooks her bound arms around his neck in a hug. He visibly starts.

"…You've grown a lot, you know?" She whispers. His mouth opens and closes a few times, but he can't seem to find the words he wants to say. "Thank god… deep down, I just knew it couldn't have been you."

"…I promised you as a man that I'd stop being such an ass. For everyone's sake…"

"…" She pulls away slightly so she can look at his face, but he turns away. He's clearly uncomfortable being near her. "…I'm so sorry." She glances back to me, not letting him question her clearly loaded words. "What about the rest of them? Those boys…"

I shake my head. She must mean his gang? "I don't think anyone died, but they're all pretty seriously injured…" I step forward a little. "But Marie… since Mondo clearly isn't the one who did this, who is?"

She quickly lets go of Mondo, suddenly remembering our situation. "I guess you'll find out soon enough. They'll be back any minute."

"S-Shouldn't we get out of here then? If you're out of harm's way, then we can-"

"No." She says firmly. "I can't leave. My citizens… if I disappear, I'm certain he'll just raze the town. Hundreds, dead!"

"Just like how they'd tried to do me n' Daiya in?" Mondo asks, venom laced with every word. "I could give less of a shit about them; I just need you out of here."

"I refuse." Mondo moves to grab her anyway, but she sends him a bone-chilling glare that could stop an entire stampede of elephants cold. "Mondo Owada, if you even so much as _graze_ me with your hand, I will end you."

"Tch…" Reluctantly, he backs off. I have to work hard to stifle a giggle at their dynamic... It's not hard to imagine her having scolded him the same way back when things were alright between them. "Fine then! You tell me what you wanna do; I'm jack shit out of ideas other than heading for the hills and beating the shit out of everyone."

"Which you _can't do_." I emphasize, earning a grunt as a response.

She purses her lips into a thin line; she seems to be weighing her options. "…Makoto. Take Mondo out of here and leave."

"E-Eh?" I gape at the woman. "I can't do that! We came here to save you!"

"You did, but you didn't need to. Your job was to prove to me that Mondo wasn't the one terrorizing the town." She shoots me a hard look. "That job is over. If you go into my office, the money is going to be inside my desk."

"Still!" I yell, affronted. "I can't just look the other way! It's not right!"

"Marie!" Mondo yells. "If nothing else, let me stay and bash some skulls! There's no fucking way I'm gonna-!"

"…Mondo." She looks over to him, effectively cutting him off with a single glance. "Take him to my _office_. Now. No matter how hard they try to bring you into this, I will not allow it. I will make sure no harm comes to you or your gang… so take him and leave! Now!"

"…" Instead of being completely infuriated like I had anticipated, he snatches up my wrist and promptly begins dragging me out the door.

"Wait, what!?" I wildly protest, flailing about in a futile attempt to break out of his grip. "Mondo no! You're seriously going to listen to her!?"

Once we're firmly out of earshot, he finally acknowledges my protests. "Hey, shut the fuck up already! We ain't leaving!"

"…Really?"

"…" He opens the office door and closes it firmly behind us before continuing. "That look she gave me in there is the one she'd always give me when she was "punishing" me in front of Daiya. That broad always had a soft spot for me whenever I got into shit…" He shakes his head, breaking free of the nostalgia threatening to take over. "Anyway, I know that wasn't an accident. There must be somethin' in here that's gonna help us nail whoever is doing this."

So we search. We tear through her office like it's a birthday present, searching high and low for _something_ that'll help us. Time passes by without mercy though; it's almost morning, and we haven't found a single thing that'd be of any use.

Suddenly, the roar of engines from outside startles me to the point that I completely lose focus. "A-Already!?"

"Shit…!" Mondo curses and slams down on the cabinet he was just digging through. "Marie, you stupid broad…! I don't care if these fuckers die! I'm coming to get you right now!"

Panicking, I take one last glance over the room. In my haste though, I end up tripping over a fallen chair and landing on my butt for the second time tonight. "Owww!"

"Makoto, stop dicking around! We've gotta…!"

"Wait a second Mondo!" I say from my place on the floor. "What's that up there?" From my angle on the floor, I have a good view of the top of a cabinet that's pressed flush to the wall. "It's like… a little black box?"

"Hah?" He says. "Whaddya mean?"

I heave myself off the floor and motion for him to walk over. "C'mon, give me a boost!"

"You better be right about this…" Instead of giving me a boost though, he just grabs me by my waist and holds me high enough to reach the suspicious object. Freaking out for only a moment, I quickly snatch the small item and motion for the gang leader to let me down.

"Phew…" I let out a nervous breath as I actually take a look at the object. Rather than being a black box, it's…

"…That a camera?" Mondo questions.

"It is…" I mumble. "Could this be what she wanted us to find?" I power on the small device, nerves tying little knots in my stomach as time passes. "What could possibly be on here though?"

Looking through its memory, there's only one video file saved on there. I look to Mondo. He nods.

"Play it."

With tension building, I hit the play button to what will hopefully shed some light on what's actually going on here… something that'll give us an idea as to who would do such a thing.

"…" I stare at the screen in awe. "I… what? I can't believe this! This is…!"

It's…

It's…!

…It's such a horrible movie cliché that I can't even snort at it!

I groan and smack my hand over my face. Mondo doesn't share my reservations as he full out _laughs_ at the video's contents.

"Dude!" He hoots, wiping a tear from his eye. "Who the hell actually has a moustache like that!?"


	6. EPISODE FIVE: The Movie Cliché Comes to an End!

From my place behind the grandiose stage, I can't get a very accurate picture of the crowd that's formed in front of it. The air is practically humming in anticipation of what's to come…

The public execution of Mondo Owada.

I let out a shaky sigh. _"No no… not if I can help it."_

I hated this plan the moment I thought of it. It's risky; far riskier than I would have preferred. Mondo, of course, thought it was briliant.

" _It's better than letting that asshole burn the town to the ground and murdering Marie!"_ He'd said. _"Besides, if you're lucky enough to have a gun blow up in your face **and** get away without a scratch! I'm sure that you can at least make this work!"_

I feel another wave of nervous nausea hit me. Mondo, like Akane, seems to think I have control of my Ultimate ability.

I pinch myself in an effort to get a grip. We're too far in to this plan for me to be having second thoughts.

It was a simple idea; fight a movie cliché with a movie cliché. The contents of that camera not only told us who masterminded the recent attacks, but also what they'd hoped to gain from it.

In order for the plan to start though… Mondo had to go turn himself in. It was the only way to make certain that last night's attempted raid was put to a stop. Not only that, but a public event such as this one was the only way to make sure _everyone_ learned the contents of that video.

I peek through the small gap between the floor of the stage and the massive monitor. Mondo is once again bound head to toe in control collars; only this time, he's been chained down into a kneeling position, seemingly hanging his head in penance in front of the crowd. His face is drawn, a tight lipped frown gracing his lips as he makes certain to only look at the floor.

Like a man that knows his life is about to end.

A pair of legs obscures my view of the gang leader. I guess that means it's show time.

I immediately set to work as soon as I hear the screen hum to life, hoping to god that no one can hear me working over the voice of the man on stage.

"Today," He begins, voice almost overbearing in it's smugness. "Is a truly a remarkable day. Today, we will finally receive the justice we've long since given up on! The demon that kneels before you here will finally be dealt just punishment for the atrocities he's committed!"

The crowd roars in approval, boos and curses being thrown at the man like rocks. I speed up my work, hoping to god that I'm able to do this right. I was never especially tech-savvy with anything aside from the odd game console, so this feels like I'm trying to solve a rubiks cube.

"Not only have we captured this monster," The man continues, fueled by the crowd's rabid energy. "But we've all but slaughtered every single parasite he led against our fine town! We were able to thwart their final attack, and return the favor to them ten-fold!"

The crowd rips into a frenzy once more, the man's speech clearly having the intended effect. As I continue to fumble with the mass of cords, something the man says catches my attention in the worst way possible.

"…with that meaning, that our now former mayor Ms. Leblanc, is to be imprisoned and tried to the fullest extent of the law! Mark my words, that woman will never see the light of day again!

"What do you mean, you sick bastard!?" Mondo yells, effectively silencing the man as well as the crowd. "We had a deal! You said you'd leave her out of this!"

The man in question lets out a chuckle, as if he'd been told a funny joke. "We don't negotiate with terrorists! She aided you over her very own father so many years ago! That tramp would have sooner seen this town burnt to the ground than let you face us!"

This statement garners fewer cheers from the crowd. Clearly Marie has had some impact on these people; even I can see their reluctance in believing their former leader to be at fault in any way. Mondo himself goes into a despair-laden silence... which I can only hope is part of the act.

Just as I finally manage to get the camera hooked up to the monitor, a sharp pain causes me to seize up.

"Hey boss!" I'm heaved to a stand and dragged towards the stage. The man struck me right on the juncture between my shoulder and neck, making it incredibly hard to resist as he yanks me forward. "Seems like there was one rat we hadn't quite smoked out yet!"

"…" The crowd stares in awe as I'm hauled up on stage and flung next to Mondo. I try to stand up, but I'm practically stomped on by the very man who was grandstanding not moments ago. I crane my neck around to glare at the man; the very man who has made so many people's lives a living hell.

Stanley, Marie's seemingly pompous advisor, is looking down on me like a bug to be smashed.

"Oh? Aren't you the one who spirited Marie away for a rendezvous with this degenerate during that last raid?" He quips. If he didn't have that stupid moustache covering his mouth, I'm certain I'd see him smirking. "How kind of you to attend your lord's funeral."

I don't dignify the man with a response, instead glaring up at him. This displeases him apparently, as he then digs his foot into my back. I bite back a yelp.

"You know…" He says, sounding completely flippant considering the situation. "Maybe I'll take this opportunity to lecture you all on what's wrong with society… It's the weak. The weak cling to the strong as if it's their only means of living. They _leech_ off the strong. Take this parasite here," He puts more pressure on my back as he continues to grind his foot into it. I let out a cry of pain this time. "Unable to exist on his own, he comes to throw his life away in an attempt to save this demon brat. A pity, isn't it?"

The crowd is completely hushed. He continues.

"Watch now, and heed this warning." He removes his foot from my back, only to drive it right back in with twice as much force. All the air is forced out of my lungs, and I can barely hear Mondo yell out next to me. The next few words coming out of the bastard's mouth completely go over my head, and continue to until I'm finally able catch my breath and manage to look up towards my aggressor.

"…this is what happens, when a weakling goes against the strong!"

His foot, rather than going for my back once more, is heading directly for my face.

"Like _fuck_ you will!"

The next thing I see is Mondo standing where Stanley was just moments before, bits of chains and wiring from the collars falling off his form. Rather than letting me get hit again, he chose to break his "captured" facade and tackle him with enough force to smack him into the massive monitor behind him. To my dismay, it'd only been showing what was happening to me, but…

"Augh!"

As soon as Stanley smacks into the screen, the picture fizzles and cuts out completely. A shrill buzz breaks through the silence, and after a moment, the contents of the video Mondo and I saw begin to play for all to see.

" **I should have known it was you… Stanley."**

From the vantage point of the camera, we see Marie standing in front of her desk at gunpoint between two thugs. Stanley, the man behind it all, is sitting at her desk, looking very pleased with himself.

" **Well, not just anyone could come up with a plan like this."** He leans back in her chair, even having the audacity to prop his feet up on the desk. **"Having my men terrorize the town as the Crazy Diamonds was a no brainer for someone like me; that's why I chose to start my plan with this dump. They already had a reputation before I even got here!"**

A hushed whisper passes over the crowd as Stanley looks on in horror at the video evidence.

Clueless to his future self's plight, video Stanley continues bragging without mercy. **"Not only is this one of the bigger towns of the region, it also doesn't hurt that you have** _ **such**_ **good relations with the four towns surrounding you. Once I assume control here, extending my reach that far should be child's play!"**

" **Why though?"** Marie asks, voice hoarse. **"What would possess you to do this? We've been working together for years!"**

" **Ha! This was the plan from the beginning! I needed to work my way into political power; none of those brainless civilians would think twice about the character of a trusted government official!"** Video Stanley lets out a bark of laughter, flicking a pen at Marie's head. **"Ah, that sob story I heard about before I came here really was a stroke of luck… The mayor's daughter planning to elope with a known gang member! I'd have to be comatose in order to pass up such an opportunity!"**

Marie stiffens visably. **"Where… did you hear about that?"**

" **Idle gossip from street merchants."** He waves her off, this clearly not being the topic he wants discussed. **"Now then, phase one of my plan is finally going to bear fruit! You should consider yourself lucky that you'll be one of the first to die; things are going to get a bit… messy, from here forward."**

" **And?"** Marie presses, although you can tell from the video that Stanley was more than eager to explain his "master plan" to the woman he considered to be dead already. **"What is it that you plan on doing once you get control of the area?"**

I brace myself for what I know is coming next.

" **Why, that should be clear by now…"**

The most overused, overdone motive for every action movie villain ever…

" **Of course I'm planning to take over the world!"**

The video cuts off unceremoniously after those words leave his lips. The silence that's fallen over the crowd is unnatural, as if someone stripped them of their ability to communicate.

"…snk."

One snigger, then two. After a moment spent valiantly fighting the inevitable end, the whole crowd erupts into hysterical laughter.

"W-World domination? Is he high?"

"Pff, what, did he watch one too many _James Bond_ movies?"

"What a dumbass!"

"Who the hell would listen to a dictator named _Stanley_!?"

Amidst the giggly chaos, Mondo helps me to my feet. "You alright?"

The very action of standing is almost pure agony. "I wouldn't… say that." I start to sway, forcing me to grab at Mondo's shoulder for support. "I don't understand… he doesn't _look_ that strong, and yet…"

Mondo glares over to where Stanley is. He's just… standing there, while his grunts buzz around him. "…Makoto. You feel it too, right?"

I'm about to ask what he means, but then I feel it.

It's not the most obvious thing in the world, honestly; if I weren't paying attention now, I could probably have missed it entirely.

Pressure.

An undeniable pressure is coming from where Stanley is standing. Everyone in the crowd, as well as his cronies, seem to be completely oblivious to it.

"What… what the hell?" I grind out. "What's this feeling?"

"My bro Daiya explained this to me once…" He continues. "When an Ultimate uses their power, especially a Strength type, the air around them starts to get heavy. I dunno how to explain it exactly, but normal people don't feel it as well as other Ultimates do…"

A smack reminiscent of a gun going off sounds through the area, bringing all laughter to a screeching halt. Everyone's eyes turn towards the stage, right to where Stanley is…

…as well as the body of one of his men, decapitated with a single swing of an arm.

"Is all that laughter quite finished now?" He asks, overly pleasant tone casting an ominous atmosphere over the area. He grabs a handkerchief and dabs at the blood that had splattered on his suit. "You drivel are always the same. Stanley is a dignified name; a strong one. A concept you'll never be familiar with, I fear."

The crowd rips into a frenzy instantly. People begin to try and flee, but any hope of escape is dashed when thugs who were mixed in the crowd pull out guns. Hysterical cries from women and children are the only sound in the area as the whole town is effectively taken hostage.

He looks down at the cuff of his suit and sighs. "A shame. I rather liked this suit..." Then, without warning, he displays his power once again on an unsuspecting goon standing next to him.

It's horrifying to see a headless body, but it's ten times worse when you see the deed in action. With a swing of his arm, what would be- _should_ be- a normal slap obliterates the man's entire skull on contact. There isn't as much blood as there is in the movies… making the situation that much more real.

"It does feel nice though." He muses, simply shaking the blood off his arm this time. "I hadn't used my powers in a very, very long time… I was afraid I'd be weaker."

"You…" I stand there, shocked to the core. "How could you just…?"

"These men are tools to me, nothing more." As if to prove his point once more, he grabs another man's hand as he tries to move away. He tears the poor grunt's arm off with a sickening pop as it disconnects from his shoulder. Then, clearly annoyed with the man's screams of agony, he reaches over and snaps his neck with a flick of his wrist. "It's like using a tissue, if anything. You two should be familiar with this feeling as well, being Ultimates and all."

I feel anger boiling from the pit of my stomach. "You monster…! Don't lump us in with the likes of you!"

"Oh?" The man muses. The way he looks down his nose at me is borderline infuriating. "I knew you were a weakling to begin with, but you really must be _joking_ about him." He gestures to Mondo, who I feel tense up beside me. "You mean to honestly tell me that you think he's never taken a life?"

"…" I shake my head. "No. I-I know he has… but not for the same reason as you!"

"Murder is murder, child. The motivations mean nothing." Stanley shakes his head as he chides me. "How naïve you must be…"

"That's wrong though!" I step forward towards the man, pointing an accusing finger towards him. "Mondo… Mondo isn't the sort of person to kill for fun, or even because he thinks someone is below him!"

He chuckles. "Ah, the ignorance of the weak… Someone like you will never understand what it feels like to hold someone's life in your hands, to choose whether to let them live or rip them to shreds… Truly, a weak Ultimate such as yourself is-"

"If _anyone_ here is weak, it's you!" I say. Stanley's apparent shock at my outburst urges me to continue. "Physical strength isn't everything! You use your power to intimidate people into following you, tossing them around like they're nothing if they mess up… if that isn't pathetic, then I don't know what is!"

This seems to strike a nerve, as his polite façade drops completely. "Just what would _you_ know about strength, you little mongrel!? For that matter, what do you even know about the man standing next to you!? He's a monster! A demon! An absolute _freak_ , even by Ultimate standards!"

"I may not know much about him…" I shake my head, barely even registering the words that come out of my mouth at this point. "But I've met his gang! Those people think of him as family- no, they _are_ family! He was going to _die_ for them! He's way stronger than you for that reason alone!"

"You insignificant little shit…! I'll show you whose pathetic in this situation! Now…"

He lunges towards me from the other side of the stage, ready to throw me into oblivion.

" _Die!"_

A hushed silence falls over the area. The screams of the citizens are completely silenced by the spectacle before them; even the armed thugs have dropped their guard in favor of watching this unfold.

"You know Makoto, flattery will get you nowhere in life."

Mondo caught the man's wrist, holding him back from attacking me again. I would laugh at his constant heroics if the timing were better. "It isn't flattery if it's true."

He smirks back towards me in response, but quickly turns his attention back towards the man he has trapped.

"See… I've never considered myself a strong person. Daiya was always the strong one between us, even if he couldn't beat me physically." He glares at the man, who seems to be fuming. "He always put his friends in front of himself. Always. If that's weakness… I think I'd much rather die than be strong."

"You…!" Stanley shakes his head furiously, moustache fraying out of anger. "Pathetic! Pathetic pathetic pathetic! If that's how you really feel, I'll kill you where you stand!"

He swipes at Mondo with his other hand, fully intending to end him in one blow just like the others. Mondo catches this one as well, shaking the man to his very core.

"You really think swiping at me like that is gonna do anything?" He says this in an almost scolding way, as if he were talking to a toddler. "You really oughta calm down..."

"Just… just what _are_ you!?" He begins visibly trembling, falling to his knees from the sheer amount of force being exerted on his body. Once again showing his seemingly infinite strength, Mondo doesn't even seem to put effort into subduing Stanley. "N-No Ultimate could possibly be this strong…! You even have Control Collars on! How is this possible!?"

"You said it yourself. I'm a monster, remember? A demon…" Suddenly though, he lets go of the man, causing the whole crowd to back up from the stage instantly. "Tell ya what… I'll let you get one free hit on me. That way when I end your ass, I can at least say that you tried to put up a fight."

Stanley just stands there. "Are you truly so foolish!? Even with disgusting amounts of strength, there's no way you'd live if I went all out against you! Your cockiness will be your undoing!"

"Hey now," Mondo tuts, smirking over towards the man. "Who are you tryna to convince? I won't blame you for running, ya know? Pussing out seems like something you'd do, now that your shitty plan was put on ice."

"Are you trying to provoke me?" He asks. "You pest…"

The crowd watches with bated breath as they wait to see how this plays out. I'm no different of course.

"H-Hey, Mondo…" He glances over to me, smug amusement written plainly on his face. "Are you sure that you're okay with this?"

"Just watch and learn." He says, turning towards Stanley once more. "I'm a demon, remember? A total freak. I usually curse this shit power to hell and back, but… Strength Ultimates gotta be able to take a blow, right? I don't think he'll even leave a bruise."

"…Very well." Stanley says, squaring up. "If that's how it's going to be, then I have no choice but to go all out!"

Even though he seems confident, I can see the slight tremor in his hands. His pride won't let him back down.

"Give me your best shot then!" Mondo taps his cheek. "Right here. You get just one chance."

Finally, he takes the bait. He's at Mondo's throat in an instant, but rather than hitting him…

He pulls out a gun.

The thing to know about Strength Ultimates is that they have a natural resistance to blunt force trauma. A normal person hitting an Ultimate of this typing at full force would probably feel like a light tap. As such, if two Strength types get into a fight with one another, it would normally equal out to be a normal fight. Mondo, being even stronger still, would ordinarily have no issue fighting this guy.

But this doesn't mean he can survive a gunshot at point-blank range.

My body reacts purely on instinct. I rush towards Mondo and slam into him as hard as I can. Just because he won't feel it much... doesn't mean it won't move him.

A shot rings out just by my head as we topple to the ground. I snap my eyes open to see a stunned Stanley staring at where a corpse _should_ have been. He rounds on me in a rage.

"You little br-!"

And the next thing I know, Stanley isn't standing there anymore. The massive screen cracks and topples over with a loud crash, causing all present to do a double take.

"Hey Makoto!"

I turn my head so quickly that my neck pops, not being able to help the sigh of relief that escapes me as I see who it is. Talk about convenient timing.

"Akane!"

She waves from her place in the crowd, with a very livid Takemichi next to her.

"Did you really have to throw my bike at him!? You stupid cunt!"

* * *

The whole town is buzzing as the sun sinks over the horizon. Earlier, while Mondo and I were focused on Stanley, Akane and several members of Mondo's gang were able to get the jump on the armed thugs keeping the civilians hostage, as well as rescue Marie from the basement of the mansion. Once we fished Stanley out of that massive monitor, we slapped a control collar around his neck to keep him in line.

" _We're fortunate enough to have our own police force in this town."_ Marie said. _"Rest assured, he's going to receive a_ _ **very**_ _just punishment."_

None of us really felt like asking what she meant by that. Not that we cared much.

So here Mondo and I sit, on the very stage we were both set to die on, watching as the town celebrates around us. Rather than forcing Mondo and his gang out after the whole incident, the townspeople welcomed them back with open arms. As it turns out… a lot of the Crazy Diamonds had some very worried parents.

"…!" I let out a hiss of pain. Mondo did a great job at bandaging my torso, but the way that he's pouring alcohol on the gash from the pistol whip _stings_.

"Er. Sorry." He clips by way of apology. "Bruised ribs are all I'm really good at treatin'…"

I shake my head. "It's fine really! Those kicks from earlier hurt a lot more than that!"

"…Right. Sorry." He mumbles.

I raise an eyebrow at him. "For what?"

"I… prolly should have jumped in sooner." He grumbles, focusing on the cut. "Y'know, before he nailed you that many times."

I laugh. "It's fine, really! I mean…" I scratch my cheek a little. "If you think about it, had you stepped in sooner, Akane wouldn't have gotten there in time to stop him from gunning us down. Don't worry about it so much!"

"Gotcha…" He grumbles out something that vaguely sounds like "sorry" after that, and I sigh.

"You really need to stop apologizing. What's the matter with you?"

"…" He puts down the bandages and leans back, putting his weight on his arms. "…Y'know, I'm not too sure what I'm supposed to do with my damn self. Don't get me wrong; I'm _so_ fucking happy that the guys can come here without being shot at or whatever. It's just… I don't really feel like I got a place here anymore. Daiya ain't here, and Marie has her own shit going on…"

I nod, contemplating his words. "But you still have your gang. It's not like they're gonna quit being the Crazy Diamonds because they got a little praise for once. If anything, they're going to take their new "protector" title seriously. They need a leader for that."

"…Ya think?" His frown creases even deeper. Apparently, this is really bothering him.

"Well…" I roll my shoulder a bit before reaching for my shirt and jacket. "Honestly, I can't begin to tell you what to do. Maybe just try thinking about what _you_ want in life. Do you want to hang around here with your gang? Help Marie out? Or maybe you'd want to go traveling and see the world?" I laugh a little at that one. "But seriously. Don't worry about it too much today. Try to enjoy tonight while it lasts."

In favor of giving him more time to brood, I quickly get dressed and hold a hand out for him to stand. "Come on then! Let's go meet up with Akane and get something to eat!"

He clicks his tongue, but takes my hand anyway. "You know, you're a damn fool. I could have accidentally crushed your hand just then."

"But you didn't, right?" I laugh. "You may have had problems controlling your powers as a kid, but it looks to me that you can be gentle now!"

"Weirdo." He gives me a light shove. "What part of me looks gentle, huh? You blind on top of being stupid?"

"Hey, looks can be deceiving!" I counter. "Besides, think about what you just did! You could have smashed a me-sized hole in the ground if you wanted to!"

He chuckles. "Fine. You win this one, brat."

"Who are you calling a brat?" I laugh, giving him a shove right back. "I'm a legal adult now, you know."

"…Seriously?"

I glance up to him. He seems to be confused. "Er. Yeah. Why would I lie about that?"

"What the hell?" Mondo stops and turns me towards him, seemingly comparing my height to his. "How can someone a year older than me be so small?"

"…" I stare up at him. "You're… seventeen."

"Well yeah." He sniffs a little, turning away. I don't know if he's trying to hide it, but he's full-blown _smirking_. "Oh well, I guess? Genetics are a bitch."

I scowl. "Now who's the brat? Just because you're bigger doesn't mean you have more experience than I do!"

"Experience?" He cackles, giving up on his half-assed attempt to hide his amusement. "Jesus Makoto, no wonder Akane gives you so much shit. You can't go around saying stuff like that with a straight face!"

"What do you-?" I choke when I realize what he's talking about. " _Mondo!"_

He starts to _wheeze_ because of how hard he's laughing. It takes him a minute to regain his ability to speak. "Man oh man, I haven't busted a gut like that in years! You're a riot, you know?"

"Yeah yeah…" I grumble, completely unamused. "Are we gonna go get something to eat or not?"

"Only if you promise to teach me something with all your "experience" first."

…I really wanna smack that stupid smirk off his face.

Only just now realizing how red my face must be from the embarrassment, I turn away and start down the road again. "Y-Yeah, well, there isn't much I can teach in just a few hours! Akane and I are leaving tomorrow, so I'd rather not start something I can't finish."

I notice Mondo stops in his tracks for a moment, all laughter vanishing in an instant He quickly starts back up again, speeding up to match my pace. "Right… you n' Akane are heading out. Off to find your dad, right?"

I nod, keeping my eyes on the road ahead. "Yup. We don't even know where we're heading, so we can't really afford to stay in one place for too long. It's hard to relax without a solid goal in mind, you know?"

"So… yer just gonna wonder around till you find that weird mountain ya told me about?" He seems oddly pensive. "Ain't that kinda stupid?"

"Well… Marie said she'd do some digging for us." I sigh. "I know I shouldn't put all on her, but she's our best bet. Akane is less than useless with a map, and _I_ obviously have no idea where this place is…"

"…" Mondo grunts. "Say, Makoto-"

"Makooooo!"

Our gazes whip to the other side of the road, where Akane stumbles out of the very restaurant we were heading to. If it weren't glaringly obvious she was drunk with how she was walking, it becomes a matter of fact when she nosedives right into the asphalt.

"Jesus Akane!" I rush over to scoop up my fallen companion just as a car is about to roll over her. "Are you stupid?! Why are you wandering around like that?"

"I wash lookin' fer ya Makoto!" She says, paying no mind to the steady stream of blood falling from her nose. I hurriedly grab a tissue out of my pocket and hold it to her face as she continues to talk. "Y' know, y' know, they have tha' best food o'er there! You needa 'ave some!"

"That was the plan until a minute ago…" I sigh. I guess I'll ask Marie for a sandwich later. "Come on. I'm taking you to bed."

"Whaa?" She tries to shake me off, but apparently her strength means absolutely nothing when she's this wasted... which, all in all, is a very good thing. "Buh Mako, it's so early! N' y' haven't spent any time w' me all day! Them gang peoples r' fun an' all, but not as fun as makin' fun of you! It's not fair!"

"Yeah, well neither is my having to babysit you…" I almost want to cry. It smells so good from here…

"Oi." I glance back to where Mondo has flagged down one of his gang members. "Get us food. I don't care what you pick, just make it good n' fast, got it?" The boy nods, and quickly dashes off to complete his task. I open my mouth to question him, but suddenly Akane's drunken body is yanked away from me… and flung over his shoulder.

"Where were you two staying tonight?" He questions.

I open and close my mouth a few times, trying to find the words. "…Marie lent us one of her rooms-"

"Fine." The boy Mondo had sent off comes back in record time, carrying two large bags of takeout. He grabs them without thought. "Let's get moving then. How the hell did you manage to keep her in one piece till now?"

"Uhm… well, there wasn't nearly as much liquor in the woods as there is here…"

"Ey!" Akane says, squirming around on his shoulder. "I don' want him to come! He stinks!"

"No more than you, you trashcan. When was the last time you took a fucking bath?" I can see Mondo's urge to pinch his nose written all over his face, but he doesn't have a free hand to do it.

"Prolly sooner than the last time Makoto took one!" She gripes. "Why ya' just picking on me, you bitch?"

"It's probably because he doesn't smell like booze someone tossed into a sewer!"

I discreetly sniff myself, thankful that I _don't_ smell like that… though it could be better.

"Makoto, give m' a bath!" Akane squeals from her place on his shoulder. "I 'anna take a bath with you! Ol' man told me that's the best way for men to bond w' each o'er!"

Even though I know she's completely gone at this point, I can't help but blush. "Akane! You're not a man!"

"Ey, do you ev'n count as one?" She asks, looking serious as she thinks about it in her booze-addled mind. "Yer so tiny… so it's okay! Take a bath with me!"

Clearly fed up with her, Mondo roughly adjusts her on his shoulder. "I'll get one of the fucking maids to do it when we get there, you fucking she-man. Now shut up."

"Grh!" Akane's hand flys to her mouth. "Not so rough n' the goods, faggot! I'm gonna- hrk!"

Mondo stops in horror as she empties her stomach all over his back.

"You… _you_ …!"

…May his jacket rest in peace.

* * *

The skies are clear as Akane and I make our way through the woods once more. Clean, fifty-thousand dollars richer, and fully stocked for a long journey ahead, I can't help but feel happy as I breath in the fresh morning air.

"God, why can't we turn down the fucking sun?"

Akane, on the other hand, doesn't see, to share my good mood.

"It's your fault for drinking yourself stupid last night." I chide. "Be grateful Marie gave you those sunglasses. You wouldn't be able to function without them, I bet."

"You'd bet right, if these things weren't so shitty." She gripes, snapping a poor, unsuspecting tree in half with a swift kick.

"Hey!" I say, turning on my heel to face her. "Don't take your hangover out on the flora! It didn't do anything to you!"

"It looked at me funny, so it started it!" She counters.

"A _tree_ looked at you funny?" I shake my head. "Let's just keep going, okay? Marie said the next town is just a few day's walk, with a cozy inn on the way. If we hurry, we could make it there by nightfall."

She seems to perk up slightly at this, picking up her pace to match mine. "Yeah, 'bout that… what did she say about the mountain?"

"Unfortunately, "bear shaped mountain" wasn't something she could just Google and get a solid result. But, she did say that she'd give us a call once she found out something else."

"Fucking useless ol' bag..."

"Prolly more helpful than you'll ever be, she-man."

I nearly trip when I hear that now-familiar voice from behind us. I turn to face him, knowing full well that shock is painted all over my face.

Mondo smirks, folding his hands behind his head in an almost leisurely way as he stands a little ways off from us. His jacket is missing (for obvious, vomit-filled reasons) and his hair is simply pushed back by a thin headband, rather than the style it was in yesterday.

Even after seeing the beat-up looking bag at his feet, I feel the need to ask a fairly obvious question. "W-Why are you here…?"

His smirk broadens as he shoves his hands in his pockets, calmly and confidently responding to my near-rhetorical question.

"Remember how you suggested I go out and see the world?"


End file.
